UFCW Local 400 President Tom McNutt today issued the following statement in response to a New York Times article documenting the increased use of lockouts by management as a tool to intimidate and get concessions from workers:
“Lockouts are the hot new weapon in the class war being waged by the top 1 percent against the 99 percent.
“In their insatiable thirst for ever-higher profits, many corporations are refusing to bargain in good faith, locking out employees who refuse to surrender to every company demand, hiring replacements, and forcing workers to choose between lower living standards and less health and retirement security — or unemployment and loss of union representation.
“That’s not bargaining, it’s bullying. It’s not ‘give-and-take,’ it’s ‘my-way-or-the-highway.’ It’s not ‘let’s exchange offers,’ it’s ‘let me make you an offer you can’t refuse.’
“A prime example, as Stephen Greenhouse of The New York Times reported, is the case of American Crystal Sugar, where the company was making record profits yet still locked out its 1,300 unionized workers because they refused to pay more for health coverage, agree to outsourcing, and make other concessions. This is simply class warfare, as a company already making money hand over fist tries to get even more by driving its workers out of the middle class and possibly busting the union in the process.
“Ahold/Giant, Safeway and all the employers of Local 400’s members should know this: We won’t accept anything less than an increase in our economic standing, jobs that create a ladder to the middle class, and improved health and retirement security. We are ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that these profitable companies share the fruits of our labors with us.
“In fact, we are putting management on notice that should it try to deploy the lockout weapon, we will stay united in Solidarity, we will fight back with everything we have, and we will mobilize customers and the community to force the companies to back down and bargain in good faith. That’s not a threat — it’s just a statement of fact.”
