Any organizer can tell you about corporate America's standard bag of union-busting tricks: Harassment. Intimidation. Captive audience meetings. Firing union supporters.
It's happening all across the country to workers who stand up for themselves and try to form a union. Recently, Cablevision workers joined the Communications Workers of America, but haven't come close to a first contract.
Cablevision boasts of its open door policy. But when 22 CWA members asked to meet with a vice president, the door was closed in their faces. Permanently.
The New York Times reported on Monday:
They waited for 20 minutes to talk, then 20 more. La’kesia Johnson, 44, grew restless and walked to the front office. A manager told her to go back inside. Then the vice president walked in and asked, essentially: Who’s supposed to be working now?
Every worker, 22 in all, raised a hand.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the vice president said, according to multiple accounts, “I am sorry to tell you that you’ve all been permanently replaced.”
“I said, ‘Whaaat?’ ” Ms. Johnson says. “Replaced? You just fired us? You don’t even know what we want.”
Ms. Johnson says the vice president looked at her and stated: I don’t care what you want.Read the whole thing here. And sign a petition to rehire them here.
