Health care key to the American Licorice fight

UNION CITY, Calif.--Workers on strike against American Licorice rallied here with other area unions on December 21. Among the unions present were the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, California teachers and the Alameda Central Labor Council, which represents more than 100,000 workers from the public and private sectors.

The strike began December 5, and with the company refusing to return to the negotiating table, it looks like it will continue.

The main issue in the strike is the company's proposed changes to health care and retiree health care benefits. The company wants the workers, members of the Bakers Union Local 125, to pay for deductibles and a percentage of their premiums out of pocket.

The company has proposed to pay the entirety of health care deductibles for 2012, but only half in the subsequent two years. With health care costs always increasing, American Licorice is essentially carrying out a pay cut over the next two years as workers will have to meet the expenses out of pocket.

Now, strikers are facing a new threat--from Union City's city council. On December 19, the city council demanded that the workers take down their makeshift kitchen due to "safety concerns" (sound familiar, Occupy activists?). The city council also ordered them to remove their Christmas tree, saying that it blocked handicap ramps, even though it was actually on the company's grass property.

The company has also been able to get trucks through the picket lines and hire scabs to attempt to continue production, given the additional support of the city council decision.

"They are trying to break our morale," said Rene Castillo, the union's vice president. In response to all of the support they receive from every other car and truck that drives by honking its horn, for example, "The police even told us they would cite people for honking in support of the picket line," said Castillo.

The December 21 rally included several unions, local politicians and about 200 workers poised to fight. Despite the threat of citations, union members continued their rally on the company's grass amid the constant honking of passers-by. Union members from another local donated their RV to help the strikers maintain their pickets and continue their makeshift kitchen.

When California state representatives from the area tried to meet with the company's management to encourage the company to go back to the negotiating table, they were asked to leave by security and told that they would contact the police if they did not.

Amid growing frustrations with slow progress at the negotiating table, some workers are wondering why they can't bring to bear some lessons from recent struggles. "If they were able to shut down the Port of Oakland, why can't we shut down this factory?" asked striker Georgeann Gamino.