7/31/2019 Lockout Newsletter

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Number 1

KNOCKOUTTHE LOCKOUTR a N K & F i L E N E w s L E T T E R

hy Con Ed workers must lead a struggle not only for ourselves and other

ions, but for all poor and working class people.

he Lockout Knockout interviews JJ, a member of Local 1-2

The DeaTh of The a merican 

Worker, Thanks To con eD

Which W ay forWarD?

As Con Ed workers, we maintain one

he most important electrical grids on the

net. This city can’t run without us. When

come together, we are powerful.

But at the same time, our power as

ity workers is limited. Why? Because

we stop working, peoples’ lives are put

risk. When utility workers, teachers,

lthcare workers, or transit workers go

on strike, the disruption inconveniences

ny potential allies, who start looking for meone to blame. If a blackout happened

morrow, Bill O’Reily would get on Fox

ws and blame “greedy” Con Ed workers

causing it. And even if we get a good

tract, the boss can turn around and take

cost of our wages and benefits out of the

tomer’s paycheck. It’s easy for the boss

to hike utility rates, because everyone needs

the monopoly he controls. With this power, he

can make it seem like a win for us comes at the

 public’s expense.

We are caught in a trap: in order to win

a strike or lockout, we need the support of 

working class communities, but by disrupting

service, we risk alienating the very people we

need to win over.

Some workers avoid this problem. They

think it’s enough to bring other unions toour pickets and rallies, and place ads in the

 Daily News telling the public our demands

are reasonable. But without thousands of 

everyday people marching with us in the

streets, unions alone cannot win this battle.

Without the support of poor and working class

communities across the city, Local 1-2 will be

making for 4 years. We have a guy who

from the South, his name is Craig Ivey

 president of the company. He has a hist

 busting unions. The last time we negoticontract, one of the contention points w

 pension system we had. As of now we h

guaranteed pensions once you reach a c

 point, but the company wants to do away

that. They do not want anyone to have a pen

He used to work for Dominion I believ

call him Poison Ivey. A lot of us saw it com

December Con Ed issued a revised set of ru

their management employees. They threw

 bunch of changes. Anyone who is not 50 ye

from January 1st was changed to a cash b

 pension plan. They revised health system pension. This is a calculated move.

KNOCKOUT: How come the unions d

But the union officials were unprepared. They

did not line up a support group that could have

come to our aid in a massive show of support

for our unions. Now slowly, we can see differ-

ent politicians stepping forward, and making

strong statements against Con Ed. Christine

Quinn wrote a letter to our CEO, she said she

did not support management’s actions. The

union needs to get a coalition of unions behind

us. Saturday’s massive demonstration will

start of something.

KNOCKOUT: Why do you think this is aunion busting lockout by Con Ed?

JJ: This is a calculated move in the

smashed just like the unions in Wisconsin.

To get this kind of mass public suppo

will have to do more than tell people our dem

are reasonable. Poor and working class p

will not march with Con Ed workers s

 because they believe our struggle is just.

also need to know that a victory for Coworkers will serve their interests too.

As unionized utility workers, we are

of the most skilled workers in the entire

Students, prisoners, unemployed people

non-unionized workers are often jealous

 jobs we have. Many believe unionized w

have it easy, and have forgotten about eve

else. They think the unions have done n

in the past thirty years to help the rest

The following is an interview conducted 

an editor of the Lockout Knockout with

a member of Local 1-2. While the editors

’t agree with all of JJ’s opinions, we be-

e his insights have much to offer the rank 

d file in the fight against Con Ed.

KNOCKOUT: What do Local 1-2

rkers need to do to defeat Con Ed Man-

ment?

JJ: I believe we need to unify all the or-

ized labor unions in the city, like 1199,WU, the police, the firemen. These are a

of people, and they all support our cause.

7/31/2019 Lockout Newsletter

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neW iDeas from The r ank   anD fileOn Tuesday, July 10th, an independent worker-community meeting took pl

at 4 Irving Place, to debate and vote on strategies that the rank and file of Local

 should pursue to win this fight. Here are all the suggestions gathered that day, and

 proportion of votes they recieved.

orking class, as millions have been forced

live without healthcare, decent education,

sufficient pay to put food on the table. And

e truth is, some unionized workers do look 

wn on the rest of the working class. Some

ew women on welfare as lazy parasites,

ack people as criminals, Latinos as people

ho steal American jobs, and so on.

These divisions won’t be healed by

r old strategy, where we only pursue our 

wn interests, only build alliances withher unions, and tell poor and working

ass communities to support us without

pporting them in turn. A new strategy needs

be developed. Are we ready to unite with

legal” workers by opposing ICE raids? Are

e ready to unite with poor Black workers

demanding more decent-paying jobs, and

ore hiring of formerly incarcerated people?

re we ready to unite with poor communities,

demanding a freeze in utility rates? Are

e ready to build rank and file committees

ross multiple industries, regardless of unionfiliation, to launch strikes, sit-downs and

ycotts in common struggle?

As long as the boss exists, he will try

keep working class people at odds and

vided. Ultimately, the only way to escape

s trap for good is to go all-out: to run

ese services ourselves, for free. This would

monstrate our power and win us millions

allies, by showing the public that our 

ellbeing can ensure their wellbeing too.

So far, most trade unions have ignored,

even opposed, the struggles of poor 

d working class people outside their 

embership. Until this changes, unity will

main a dream, and the unions themselves

ll continue to be isolated and defeated. This

the reality of the situation, and we must do

hatever it takes to turn it around. l 

merican Worker, conTinueD

Which W ay , conTinueD

Email Us at: NYCRENEgadEs@gmail.Com 

LOCKOUT KNOCKOUT is aN iNdEpENdENt RaNk & filE pUbliCatioN pRodUCEd aNd 

distRibUtEd bY CoN Ed woRkERs aNd thEiR sUppoRtERs. if YoU havE iNfoRmatioN, opiNioNs,

oR stRatEgiC idEas that othER RaNk aNd filERs shoUld hEaR, CoNtRibUtE thEm hERE!

rganize against this?

JJ: I am not a union activist. The only

ing I can tell you is, the union had arike authorization vote. Before we went into

egotiation, the union handed out a ballot, we

uthorized the right to strike if they felt they

anted to strike. The vote was in huge favor 

f a strike. Since last November/ December,

we did not like the contract, we threatened

ith the strike. We should have been a lot

ore prepared for any outcome.

votEs foR stRatEgiEs sUggEstEd bY thE RaNk aNd filE

KNOCKOUT: What do you think the

impact of Saturday’s mass rally will be?

JJ: It depends on who shows up. We can

 put a big exclamation point on our cause if we

get other organized labor in the city. If family

members are there it will be huge. If our 

rally on Saturday is limited to 3-4 thousand,

then company will not look at it as a show

of strength or support for the union. I believe

we need to have the attention of others than

the Con Ed management: elected officials,

the mayor and the public. The news needs to

cover it so people listen.

KNOCKOUT: What should be done

after Saturday’s rally?

JJ: More rallies like the one in front of 

Burke’s apartment. The union was prepared.

They had flers which outlined what is going

on, his salary which is huge which people do

not know about. The union took initiative to

have full ad in the Daily News. When peoplewere looking at the flyer, they thought Burke

was crazy and it was wrong. This needs to go

to general population, and people who pay

the electrical bills. There is a number which

regulates the business. People are people

 being put on hold and getting bad service

right now. The reason they are not being

taken care of is that we have been locked out– 

we’ve been thrown out.

KNOCKOUT: What do you want t

to other local 1-2 members?

JJ: They have to get involved. I

taken the bull by the horns. I have never

involved before. I have been at compan

20 some years. Everyone is affected.

outcome of this is everyone’s resopnsb

Take flyers and get out into the streets. M

sure people are aware of the truth. P

do not know the truth. People know

they hear from management and NY1.

saying that company made a great off

union, and it is not true. The offers have

of givebacks. We need to get involved.

KNOCKOUT: Why aren’t people g

more involved and active like you?

JJ: Complacency. They think the

guy is doing the work for them. They

it is a matter of time before it is settl

disagree. If we do not take action we wout here for a long time. Con Ed has m

They can bring outside contracters. The

afford this. The regular worker can hold

few months. But they will feel the pain

need to prevent things from getting to

 point. If we get desperate we will no

anything good out of this. l