To: Detroit/Seattle
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October 21, 2021
by Phil West, Seattle Workers’ Voice
After voting down four tentative agreements (TAs), members of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters in western and central Washington state went on strike in September. They quickly found out that four-fifths of the sites which unionized carpenters were assigned to work at were covered by separate no-strike agreements between the union and the contractors organization, the AGC. Although 11,800 carpenters were allowed to authorize the strike, less than 2,000 could actually picket, because of these agreements. The strike came about after the formation of an independent rank-and-file organization, the Peter J. McGuire Group, which agitated for a vote against the fourth tentative agreement and an immediate strike against the AGC. (1) But the leadership of the Council, led by the Executive Secretary Treasurer, Evelyn Shapiro, did not want the strike. They had favored the approval of all the agreements and undermined the efforts of rank-and-file carpenters to build opposition to sellout agreements.
Although the strike finally began after the fourth tentative agreement was rejected, at first only four sites were officially picketed, and these sites were mostly inactive. The McGuire Group forced the picketing to be expanded to more active and Important sites, and attracted much support from local activists, including many leftists and Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, of Socialist Alternative.
The McGuire group eagerly sent carpenters and their supporters to many sites covered by the no-strike agreements, and called on workers at these sites to walk off the job. About 1,500 workers responded to these efforts, and this especially enraged the union bureaucrats. After over two weeks of spirited agitation, the union and the AGC went back to the negotiating table and came up with a fifth tentative agreement. As soon as this agreement was announced, the union directed members to go back to work, even before it was approved. The final agreement was opposed by 46.4% of the voting carpenters.
The following summation of the rank-and-file organizing effort by the militant leader of the McGuire Group gives a very thorough account of the gains of the effort.
(1) Peter J. McGuire (1852-1906) was a founder of the Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881, and a major figure in the early years of the American Federation of Labor. He was a Lassallean socialist, and helped found the Social Democratic Workingmens Party of North America (later called the Socialist Labor Party).
Last night [October 11], a strong percentage of reluctant voters felt unable to carry on the strike. Low participation in rallies and union meetings lead me to believe that this was a very real possibility. Many of us were disappointed in this outcome. Many of us including myself, felt that if carpenters en masse agreed to take the risk of escalating the strike — we could win. But this would require a critical mass of consciousness among carpenters.
The outcome of [the vote on] TA5 was a demoralizing defeat for our untapped potential.
But in many ways this Summer was a major victory for the Peter J. McGuire Group and for all working carpenters.
We took a disastrous 4 year contract that would have lost our parity with the other trades and we brought it back to 3 years. If we had allowed that to pass, we would have lost much of what little leverage we had at the bargaining table. Our bargaining committee should have never agreed to that in the first place. They should have walked. I’m proud that everyone rejected that offer.
We fought through 5 tentative agreements this Summer. We pushed a total package increase from $8.64 to 10.02 over 3 years. $1.38. We didn’t gain a lot, it doesn’t even keep up with inflation really. But we wouldn’t have even gotten that if it weren’t for our group and all of us organizing together. The Council was pushing a Yes vote all Summer long!
That little number ends up being $2,070 for every 1500 man hours, $2,760 for every 2,000 man hours. If you work 1500 man hours per year, that ends up being $20,700 after 10 years. If you work 2,000 man hours per year, that ends up being $27,600. Don’t let the Council take this credit away from us! It was the “contract opposition”, the Peter J. McGuire Group and its supporters, that were able to take it this far.
Forcing Evelyn Shapiro to agree to the strike was a huge victory. This happened after a half dozen rallies and 12 motions passing in 4 different locals. Two of those motions called for Evelyn Shapiro to resign. The council of course did everything it could to undermine and sabotage our strike. They initially allowed only 4 picket sites out of hundreds. It was Peter J. McGuire Group carpenters pushing for the 5th at Microsoft. And after 4 days of intermittent pickets, many of them at jobs with [no] site work and lay-down yards instead of the biggest, most important projects in the region — it was carpenter activists from the Peter J. McGuire Group who took initiative and made home made signs to protest ongoing active job sites. Over 1500 workers at over 16 active job sites walked off the jobs in solidarity. It was our efforts that got the question of the no-strike clauses that the council signed for years into a national discussion between construction workers. We wouldn’t have even known that 4/5ths of the carpenters were tied up on no-strike clauses if we never went on strike.
And it was also Peter J. McGuire Group members that reached out to the press and politicians for support in our strike. It was our group that reached out to Kshama Sawant’s office and hashed out a plan for her to introduce a city-wide ordinance to have contractors pay for 100% of our parking in all of Seattle for all construction workers. There’s been nothing negotiated like this in history with a politician. That ordinance still requires our support to make it happen. This will mean that we can take our $1.50 parking differential and keep it in Seattle! This will mean it doesn’t matter where you’re working in Seattle, you will have paid parking. Last night, at Local 30’s union meeting, a line of business agents, bargaining committee members, and their brown-nosers spoke out against this. They all hoot and hollered about how wicked Sawant was for helping us with this! The same people who fought to keep our wages cheap and for us to get nothing for parking for 3 years. The same people supporting no-strike agreements to take away our right to strike! The same people saying we shouldn’t have freedom of speech on the picket lines! It’s the Business Agents and the Council that wants to keep carpenters from supporting legislation that would get us paid parking—and unless carpenters can see through that, they might actually be successful! This would be a major blow to the AGC, and a huge win for all working construction workers. We need to all make a reasonable effort to make this happen!
Evelyn Shapiro destroyed her entire administration’s credibility. The Business Agents lost their credibility this Summer. The Strike took what little was left and buried it. Good riddance! Before this Summer, there were carpenters who had no idea who the EST [Executive Secretary Treasurer] even was! All Summer long, I heard carpenters wanting to give her and the business agents the benefit of the doubt! Maybe they’ll change! Well if carpenters had to give up a paycheck to learn how the union really works—then I say it was worth it! Yes it's painful! Yes it hurts! But it's necessary to grow. Its necessary to change the union and to learn the need to participate and organize to make an actual difference. At the beginning of this year I wasn’t sure if there were any carpenters with any fire left in their bellies. I’m humbled and grateful to have been proven otherwise! This strike did more to educate members of how their union works, and why it needs to be changed, than any other event in my entire career!
We are going to continue to organize. I’m going to continue to organize. We are still raising funds for legal aid to defend against retaliation and to pay for legal costs. We are still collecting signatures and trying to get guys to help with the Seattle Paid Parking ordinance. And we also have plans for putting on political pressure to prohibit (ban) these no-strike agreements that take away our right to strike!
And we also want to build and train a slate of candidates with integrity to take back our union!
We are also going to help carpenters in other parts of the Northwest and the country to establish their own Peter J. McGuire Group chapters! This organization is going to get more concrete, its going to grow, and its not going anywhere! Help us build it!
I urge you all to participate. Send me a direct message on Facebook. If you’re a Carpenter ask how to get more involved. I never said this would be easy. This was a major battle, we lost a lot, but we also won a lot. We’re still standing!
Solidarity with all workers,
Arthur Francisco Esparza “Art Francisco”.
(The strike summation is from the Peter J. McGuire Group Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/groups/173901476663648/posts/860097718044017. Art Franciso’s site is at https://www.facebook.com/arturo.francisco. A video of him speaking at a carpenters’ strike rally can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dc5wb-ygww.) <>
n the second sentence of the article “Environmental activists vs false solutions: a week of Build Back Fossil Free demonstrations” (*D/SWV list, October 11)the word “not” should be dropped so that it reads “The activists are going demanding that the Biden administration declare a climate emergency, stop approving fossil fuel projects, and ensure climate justice for minorities and workers.” <>
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