The contract was voted in by the members, with 93% of votes cast. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444375104577592001090133694.html
That said, I think this is a very well-written piece, with important facts that never made the main-stream media, and a well-expressed, coherent point of view.
Now, without further ado, here is an article by Ben Fredericks, who describes himself as "a food service worker, CUNY student, and socialist" :) -Ed.]
Con Edison Bosses Lock-out workers: a Capitalist Attack on the Entire Labor Movement
Urgent need for all-out labor mobilization to stop the scabs and “knock-out the lock-out”!
On July 1st, Con Edison, New York’s monopoly utility provider, took aim at its 8,500 person unionized workforce. The day after the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) contract expired, and in the middle of a heat wave, Con Ed locked out the workers. So far negotiations have gone nowhere as the company has given one concessionary “offer” after another, all of which would attack newly hired workers’ pensions and or healthcare, and could ultimately divide the union into two tiers of workers. The workers are 100% correct to reject these attacks. They are now into their third week without pay and need the immediate support of all New York Labor and allies.
Building Solidarity
Over 50 people packed into an SEIU conference room on July 13th to attend a meeting called by the Central Labor Council to build a ‘Solidarity Coalition with Con Ed Workers’. The meeting attracted workers from over a dozen unions including the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Communication Workers of America (CWA), both of which are working without contracts, as well as non-union workers, community organizations and socialists. Many important ideas were raised about how to help the Con Ed workers, and how to conduct effective labor struggles generally. A sister from the CWA mentioned the importance that ‘mobile pickets’ had during the Verizon strike last year. People spoke about organizing a tour of locked out workers, bringing them face-to-face with the membership of other union locals to build solidarity. The connection was made that the Con Ed lockout is racist since the non-white Con Ed workers have less overall seniority and would be the ones hit hardest by a two-tier contract. It was also noted that Con Ed has specifically decreased power to poor and minority neighborhoods during the heat wave. Importantly, many people in the meeting seemed to agree on the need to build militant picket lines, broaden union support and stop the scabs from working.
