Why We're Organizing

Inside: 1,000,000 former ACORN workers can’t be wrong Stories from former employees who spoke out A NEWSLETTER FOR ACORN WORKERS • ISSUE #2 •␣ FEBRUARY 19, 2001 WRITE: TO-GATHER C/O IWW, PO BOX 13476, PHILA., PA 19101 •␣ CALL: 215-763-1274 BOX #5 •␣ E-MAIL: [email protected] Philly ACORN workers Why we’re organizing strike for safe jobs & end •␣ We want organizers working in pairs •␣ We want guaranteed lunch breaks. to union-busting in the field after dark for more safety. In Putting in eight or ten hours at a stretch, The IWW struck the Philadelphia office the past two months one worker was mo- we need a chance to eat. of ACORN February 8 to protest a series of lested, another robbed at gunpoint, and •␣ We want procedures to deal with ra- unfair labor practices that had made work- others have experienced harassment. When cial bias. We’re tired of unequal pay and ing conditions intolerable. ACORN workers we raised the issue in Philadelphia, man- management insensitivity. asked management to recognize their union agement responded with a memo claiming ACORN management can afford to meet and respond to concerns about job safety that there have been “no major incidents” these demands. Instead, they order us to and working conditions January 29. Al- in the past three years. Maybe they’re wait- continue unsafe work practices, and engage though ACORN claims to be a progressive ing for someone to get killed. in union-busting. Attempts to intimidate and community group promoting rights for •␣ We want an eight-hour work day, harass union supporters are illegal, and un- working people, management refused to and two weekends off per month. Fifty- worthy of an organization established to recognize the four hours a week is just too much. work for social justice. Although ACORN union or address from a flier distributed to Philly ACORN members during a February 8 picket claims to be a workers’ grievances. me explain. One major grievance of the or- progressive In the two A Local 100 ganizing staff was the competitive environ- community group weeks between organizer remembers ment created by Rathke. This “organizing promoting rights collecting authori- genius” developed a “piece rate” strategy for working zation cards and LOUISIANA. The struggles of ACORN work- of organizing. All the names of Local 100 the workers’ deci- ers in Philadelphia for workplace democ- organizers were placed on a chalkboard in people, manage- sion that they had racy is not a new phenomena. Periodically the office along with a list of all sites where ment refused to no choice but to workers in this “peoples’ organization” have Local 100 had contracts. Scores were kept recognize the strike, managers organized to challenge the undemocratic on how many new dues paying members union or address subjected workers and exploitative practices of this organiza- organizers had signed up at each facility. to captive meet- tion and its leaders. Let me briefly tell you Later, a bonus program was developed workers’ ings, threatened about my experience in one such fight. In based on how many workers we were able grievances. workers for en- the fall of 1986 I began working for ACORN- to get on dues check-off each month. Local gaging in direct affiliated Local 100, SEIU, AFL-CIO, in New 100 management also promoted and pro- action on the job, threatened to terminate Orleans, as a union organizer. In the mid- voked petty divisions among staff. Thus, and later briefly suspended a member of 1980s ACORN struck a deal with then SEIU management helped to create the competi- the union organizing committee on alleged president John Sweeney to open or take tive, cut throat environment we were sup- productivity grounds, threatened to disci- over existing SEIU union locals in a num- posed to be fighting. pline a worker for taking a lunch break ber of cities-New Orleans, Boston and Chi- Other issues, which the Philadelphia during her 10-hour shift, blamed the union cago. The local in New Orleans was run by campaign reminds me of, included late campaign for its refusal to transfer another self-proclaimed “chief organizer” Wade checks, and wages that worked out to be worker to a safer job, subjected union sup- Rathke, also the chief organizer of ACORN. below or near the minimum wage. All these porters to surveillance and investigations, I came into the job with zeal similar to that issues were also expressions of the lack of and fired a member of the IWW organizing of a lot of young people who are attracted democracy in the organization for both staff committee. to organizing and who see ACORN as an organizers and members. In light of these A lively picket line in front of ACORN’s opportunity to work for progressive social grievances and problems, and due to the offices drew 15 ACORN strikers and sup- change. efforts of the “Carolina contingent” — the porters, and enthusiastic support from many I started noticing that the organization name for the group of organizers from North passersby. Several ACORN members had serious problems regarding democracy Carolina — the Local 100 staff organizing pledged to speak to management to de- and exploitation of its own workers, and drive began in the spring of 1987. There mand better treatment for workers. The the consciousness-raising efforts of Local were about 20 organizers and staff involved, picket line concluded with a march into the 100 organizers in North Carolina showed which included Local 100’s offices in New continued on page 2 me that the problems were widespread. Let continued on page 2 Philadelphia strike from page 1 ACORN office to collect pay checks owed A little corny... the strikers. While inside, Wobblies asked Adapted from a children’s song, sung the boss a barrage of questions about on the picket line in Philadelphia ACORN’s unsafe working conditions and union-busting, finding that he had almost I’m a little ACORN round nothing to say in response. Walking through the cold dark town “We work 54 hours a week, we work My boss he always steps on me every weekend, and we don’t get overtime Because I’m just one nut you see pay,” says ACORN worker Gina Giazzoni. ACORN workers’ low salaries combined I’m a nut crack, crack, with weekly overtime means an hourly I’m a nut crack, crack, wage hovering around minimum wage. But that’s not OK with me They plan to bargain for a guaranteed lunch We’re organizing with Wobblies break, eight hour work days, and at least Then we’ll grow up big and strong two weekends off per month. And more acorns they will fall Another urgent concern is job safety. “Every night after dark we are sent out alone On the boss crack, crack into city neighborhoods to recruit new On the boss crack, crack ACORN workers picket on February 8 members,” Giazzoni explains. “It’s not safe for us. I’ve been grabbed and molested while out in the field by myself. Our super- Local 100 from page 1 away Local 100 in New Orleans. The sup- visors haven’t done anything except issue Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport. port from this local would allow us to carry a vague memo saying to take appropriate After a few weeks of clandestine orga- out more organizing. Rathke was furious precautions. We want to work in pairs, but nizing, union supporters marched into when the local decided, democratically, to they won’t let us.” Rathke’s office to demand union recogni- have our local group of organizers service Another worker was robbed at gun point tion. Rathke, well versed in labor law, re- it, rather than Local 100. Rathke attempted while working the streets alone after the fused to accept our petition demanding to get the international to nullify the agree- union had demanded the right to work in union recognition. ment and put the local into trusteeship. He pairs. The battle then began in earnest. Rathke also tried to red bait a number of his former ACORN workers have also discovered quickly called a meeting of ACORN’s inner organizers. We were (and are, at least some) disparities in pay and in work assignments circle, which included his wife, Beth But- reds — but this “progressive” tried to use which seem to be based on the race of the ler, head organizer of Louisiana ACORN, and the label to run us out of the labor move- workers, and called for measures to address Rathke’s brother Dale, who is the financial ment. He was unsuccessful in regaining institutionalized racial biases. guru of the outfit. The troika devised a va- the breakaway local in Jackson. ACORN is closely linked to the AFL-CIO, riety of tactics, such as can be expected from Our organizing efforts among state em- making its union-busting even more ironic. any union-busting corporation, to divide ployees laid the groundwork for the still One of ACORN’s founders, Wade Rathke, is and destroy our solidarity. He was success- existing Mississippi Alliance of State Em- also an international vice president of SEIU, ful in peeling some weaker members of over ployees (MASE) — which was first associ- and head of HOTROC, an AFL inter-union to his side. A couple of them are now high- ated with ACTWU and is now with CWA. committee to organize hotel workers in New ranking officials in SEIU. (There are some Back in New Orleans post-organizing re- Orleans. rewards for breaking ranks.) He also sent pression was carried out.

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