Columbia clericals prepare for

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Oil workers honor slain striker On Jan. 19, over 400 members of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union Local 1-326 and other Bay Area trade unionists marched to the Union Oil refinery in Rodeo, Calif. The march and rally commemorated the death of Greg Goobic, a 20-year-old Local 1-326 member who was killed by a scab-driven truck during the 13-day strike against Union Oil last year. Speakers at the rally included: Tony Cannata, secretary-treasurer, Contra Costa Central Labor Council; Joseph Misbrener, president, OCAW; Jack Henning, secretary-treasurer, California Labor Federation; Al Lannon, president, Longshoremen's union, Local 6; Chuck Mack, secretary-treasurer, Joint Council 7, Teamsters union; and Steve Martin, assistant secetary-trea4 SOCIALIST ACTION FEBRUARY 1985 By HARLAN F. STONE NEW YORK-On Jan. 15 more than 100 members of the organizing committee of the Columbia University Local/ District 65 United Automobile Workers called for a strike on Feb. 4 if the university continues to refuse to recognize the union and negotiate a contract with the clerical support staff.

This decision came after nearly oneand-a-half years of the univeristy's refusal to recognize the outcome of a union-representation election and after two rounds of unilateral benefit cuts.

In a May 1983 National Labor Relations Board election, a majority of support staff at Columbia-mostly women, nearly one third minorities, and all grossly underpaid-chose District 65/ UAW as their representative. The university has refused to recognize the union, twice appealing the election results.

One year ago, the university imposed one set of benefit cuts, including drastic reductions in maternity and paternity leaves and large increases in medical deductible. Recently the administration has retroactively increased employee contributions to the medical benefits plan and is planning yet another more severe round of benefit cuts.

The leadership of District 65/UAW has already committed at least $1.5 million in strike funds to be paid to all workers who honor the picket lines, whether support staff, maintenance, technical, part-time, or work-study.

The 1000 Columbia clerical workers have also secured the support of the leaders of the other campus unions: the Transport Workers Union, which organizes the maintenance workers, and 1199, which organizes the librarians and •.Danly (continued from page 1: “Danly workers reject takebacks”) strikebreakers right now, 200 of them union members and 200 new hires. Many of the union members were on layoff when the strike began.

The strike was provoked on May 1, 1984, by Danly's demands for far-reaching takebacks. These included a permanent two-tier wage structure, unfavorable work-rule changes, gutting of seniority rights, job combinations, a wage freeze, elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), and massive increases in employee pay-ins for health and pension premiums. The Danly workers answered these union-busting demands with a 97 percent strike vote (See Socialist Action, September 1984).

Since Oct. 18, these demands have been settled to the satisfaction of the union. The stumbling block was Danly's insistence that the 400 strikebreakers remain on the job while only 20 of the striking members get their jobs back immediately.

This was just a new scheme to gut the seniority system and to trample the union underfoot. Members saw this clearly when they soundly rejected the proposal. Before the vote Romano minced no words when he said, 'It's a contract for scabs."

As the members dig in, however, a cleavage is developing between the members and leaders of Local 15271 and the USWA international, which had crafted the settlement together with top officials of the Ogden Corp., Danly's parent company. The union's District 31 director, Jack Parton, told members other technical employ :es. Support is also coming from the l New York City Central Labor Council and from students and faculty, who are petitioning the administration to recognize the union and are preparing to hold classes ott-campus.

The Columbia University activists have planned a series of activities between now and the Feb. 4 strike deadline to organize and mobilize the support staff. In response to the administration's antiunion scare campaign, the union is planning weekly meetings in all of the nearly 30 campus buildings.

For the Columbia support staff to defeat the university administration, there will have to be real rank-and-file participation, effective action, and active solidarity from the rest of the labor movement. The strike can be won if the majority of the clerical workers becomes actively involved in the strike. Participation in the decision-making process would be ensured with an elected strike committee that would direct the day-to-day running of the Mass picketing that will encourage a student-faculty boycott of the campus and stop deliveries and repairs will be needed to disrupt "business as usual" at Columbia and to force Columbia to recognize District 65/UAW and begin negotiations.

Finally, a major effort will be necessary to reach out to the memberships of the other unions in New York City, starting with the TWU and 1199 at Columbia. The ranks of labor should be mobilized to walk and respect the picket line at Columbia, to attend rallies and demonstrations, and to raise funds for the Columbia workers.

Roctop, C4.

FARe

surer, Alameda County Central Labor Council.

before the vote that the proposal probably would be as much as the union could extract from the company.

But the company seems to be hurting. Sam Kaster, vice president of Local 15271, told Socialist Action that General Motors, a Danly customer, complained about the quality of the scabbuilt machines they have been receiving and demanded that they be repaired. Romano has told the members, "Danly needs top machinists; they need them

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FAIRMONT, W.Va.—Twenty-seven coal miners were trapped in a fire at the Wilberg mine in Orangeville, Utah, on Dec. 19. Iwo days before Christmas, the mine was ordered sealed with the bodies entombed.

The fire broke out during an effort to break a 24-hour world-production record. Instead, the mine broke the record for the worst disaster since 38 miners were killed in Hyden, Ky., in 1970. "One lesson is perfectly clear, United Mine Workers President Rich Trumka told reporters. 'Production contests without concern for safety and health are an unacceptable race toward death."

When we heard the news here about the trapped miners, the miles between the Appalachian and the Western coal fields didn't seem to matter. We received the latest news reports from the oncoming shifts as we pulled off our muddy boots and dirty mine clothes in the women's bathhouse. We were worried about all those involved, but we were especially hoping the trapped woman miner would somehow make it.

We were puzzled at the reports in the news media about a safety chamber that supposedly would provide refuge from of which are nor-union-that are the only ones in the United States to get approval for operating a mining plan with only two entries (or tunnels). Three should be a minimum, but four would be better. A two-entry plan is a death trap plan; escape is almost impossible if something goes wrong between the miners and fresh air.

Routine shovelling of spilt coal and spreading ground limestone rock dust to dilute flammable and explosive coal dust are the first line of defense against mine fires. A safety check in November showed that levels of inflammable coal dust were nearly twice the federal limit in the mines, 3.4 milligrams vs. a standard of 2 milligrams. In addition, union fire bosses had written up the belt line for accumulation of combustible material and inoperative fire-warning devices.

Miners are supposed to be protected by having oxygen self-rescuers available underground. These devices are designed to provide enough oxygen to walk out of the mine in an hour or stay in a barricade for three hours, unaffected by the poisonous atmosphere resulting from a fire. Rescue workers found some victims with oxygen rescuers on and others without them. Was the production area so cluttered that the

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