A new contract covering 420 Local 6 members at the Bayer HealthCare plant in Berkeley, California was reached on September 30 and ratified by 70% of workers on October 12.
Significant improvements
The new four-year contract includes better job security, annual raises of more than 3%, and a freeze
on the 18% share of health insurance that workers currently pay. Bayer threatened job cuts Bayer had been seeking takeaways in this contract that included the outsourcing of janitorial jobs, boosting health care rates, arbitrary scheduling changes, and more. These threats hit home because of the recession – and because Bayer recently announced plans to close a nearby union plant in Emeryville that will destroy 400 jobs. Two years ago, Bayer threatened to move jobs from the Berkeley plant, reversing course only after politicians secured millions of dollars in tax breaks for the Germany- based pharmaceutical giant.
Concessions & declining involvement
Local 6 workers at Bayer were facing a tough situation. While their predecessors had been making
progress and winning better contracts in the decades after WWII, declining union density and industrial flight that began during the 1970’s and 80’s made it more difficult to protect hard-fought gains in each new bargaining cycle. Union negotiating committees were doing their best to fight back and hold the line, but the company’s status as a powerful, multi-national pharmaceutical giant made Bayer a formidable adversary.
Local & international partnerships
International President Bob McEllrath offered help to Local 6 and other ILWU locals who were facing difficult contract fights in 2011. Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer Fred Pecker and Business Agent Donal Mahon responded to the offer and held meetings with International Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams, International Vice President Ray Familathe, and the International’s Organizing Department. Together, they outlined an organizing strategy to move forward. An experienced rank-and-file organizer – Local 6 member Carey Dall – was recruited to help with the effort.
A network of unions from other Bayer facilities in the U.S. was formed, known as the Council of Bayer Workers, which included the International Association of Machinists (IAM), International Chemical Workers Union (ICWU/UFCW), United Steelworkers, plus the AFL-CIO. Critical help was also provided by the Bayer workers’ union in Germany, known as the IG BCE, and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, known as the ICEM.
A strategy for power
The team got busy organizing a series of six, ½-day training sessions for Local 6 stewards and
negotiating committee members. Those attending were encouraged to start talking with co-workers – emphasizing the need to carefully listen. These worker-to-worker conversations helped identify everyday concerns that would eventually become priorities for the union’s contract campaign. A survey was conducted to gather details – and provide more opportunities for one-on-one, member-to-member listening sessions. Besides learning about issues in each department, the process helped to identify new leaders and activists who volunteered to get more involved.
Every part of Bayer’s massive, sprawling complex in Berkeley was carefully mapped-out so the team could document issue concerns, and track progress.
Taking action
The next step was to help workers tackle problems in their workplace by taking action together.
These “action steps” were an essential part of the plan– but difficult to achieve because they ran counter to the traditional method of expecting a union business agent or steward to solve the problem. These actions gave workers more confidence to speak out and show management that people were willing to fight for a better contract.
Layoffs spark protest
In August 2010, Bayer announced that 29 union members were being laid-off. Instead of quietly
accepting the layoffs or just filing a grievance, workers sprang into action and organized a noisy rally in front of Bayer’s headquarters. Management tried to discourage workers from attending the rally by issuing a last-minute memo directing employees not to participate. The large turnout – and support from local elected officials – inspired workers and shocked the company because no rallies
had taken place in recent memory. Outreach in the days and weeks following the rally included meetings with City Council members, state legislators and Berkeley’s Labor Commission – all of it done with the participation of Bayer workers.
Prepared to negotiate
By the time negotiations began in late July, 2011, the mood at Bayer had shifted dramatically. Workers gathered petitions, marched on management, and made their concerns known. The negotiating team organized a weekly “lunch on the lawn” so workers could learn what was – or wasn’t – happening at the bargaining table. Regular “Bargaining Bulletins” and dozens of flyers were published to provide issue updates and suggestions for action, plus solidarity messages from other unions.
Settlement doesn’t come easy
“The added pressure on Bayer made a big difference for those of us who were negotiating,” said
Donal Mahon, the elected Business Agent who served as chief negotiator for the Negotiating Committee. Mahon says the support from other Bayer unions in the U.S., along with important help from the union of Bayer workers in Germany provided an important boost. Members backed their Negotiating Committee at critical times, first by voting to reject the company’s initial proposal because it lacked job security protections and raised the workers’ share of health insurance costs. A
second powerful solidarity message was sent to Bayer when workers voted to authorize their Negotiating Committee to “pull the trigger” by cancelling the contract with 48-hours’ notice.
Local elected
officials – including State Senator Lonnie Hancock and Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates– played important roles by supporting the fight for better job security. Bayer industry conferences around the country were being interrupted by surprise visits from the AFL-CIO and Jobs With Justice volunteers who passed out flyers that detailed problems in Berkeley. Workers in other Bayer plants across the U.S. wore stickers expressing solidarity for workers in Berkeley.
These and other measures gave workers more clout against Bayer, but they weren’t enough to
solve everything. “Even with the added power that came from all of the organizing and action, Bayer was still able to get some things that we opposed, but in the end, members were able to win a good agreement,” said Mahon.
The road ahead
Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer Fred Pecker wants to explore new models of coordinating the
local’s organizing work with the International union. He says lessons were learned in this Bayer campaign that will help his local and others. And he even sees the 30% of workers who voted against ratifying the agreement as a positive sign because members are now expecting more from Bayer. “It’s great to see so many Bayer workers who want to keep pushing for fairness,” he said, “It’s a sign that things are moving in the right direction.”