ANTIOCH — Union workers at the Georgia-Pacific gypsum plant on strike for a third day Wednesday said they won’t move until their members agree to a fair contract, though management has welcomed workers who want to return to work.
Business agent Anthony Rives, representing the International Longshoremen’s Union, Local 6, one of the two groups on strike, said that unless union members decide otherwise, workers will continue to protest outside the production plant on Minaker Drive.
“These guys are not ready to cross the line right now, no way. We have 100 percent participation,” he said.
More than 100 unionized workers from two unions initially walked off the job Monday, frustrated by wage and contract negotiations. Workers said management negotiators were not local and did not understand the rising cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Rick Kimble, Georgia-Pacific’s director of public affairs and communications, said that even though union workers have decided to strike, the company is committed to maintaining operations at its plants to ensure they can meet customer demands.
“While we respect employees’ right to strike, all Antioch employees who wish to work will be allowed to do so. We continue to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement with both unions,” Kimble said in a statement Wednesday.
Kimble added that the negotiations were conducted in good faith, despite the unions’ claims, with two offers that were accepted and recommended by union committee members but later rejected by them.
“Our negotiators rely heavily on local market information and are aware of the cost of living and wages in the San Francisco Bay Area,” Kimble said. “It’s in the company’s best interest to make sure we pay competitively so we can attract and retain employees.”
He added that the company and the union were working with a federal mediator to continue negotiations and that the company’s latest offer was “still on the table.” Management has not received any counteroffers from the unions, he said.
Workers remain open to negotiations, Rives said, but he put the onus on management to resume contract negotiations. Rives, of ILWU Local 6, is on the union’s negotiating committee, which represents about 90 members.
“The company knows our numbers and we expect them to come back and try to counter them or open negotiations with new numbers and go from there,” Rives said. “Our numbers have not changed.”
He said the only way to end the strike was for union members to change their minds and ask their committee to take the next steps.
Juan Garcia, a union representative for mechanics and electricians, said his members would also stay put to support their brothers and sisters in the union.
“We will continue to be on strike until management contacts our two unions,” Garcia said.
Christian Ortega, a union representative for Local 6, said members are also unhappy with safety and working conditions at the production facility, adding that workers are exposed to fiberglass particles and pigeon droppings. Ortega said there needs to be adequate ventilation or on-site showers for workers handling fiberglass materials.
“They offer us masks to wear, but they get our skin, fingers and hair dirty. We take them home,” he said. “There is a vacuum system, like a blower on site, but that’s all they have.”
Originally published:
