City workers fight for unionization in Portsmouth, Virginia

View of downtown Portsmouth as tugboats guide naval ship past the area. The city is a major hub of activity and commerce and requires skilled and well-paid municipal workers to keep it going and to provide essential services to residents. | Wikipedia (CC)

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – City workers and union organizations in Portsmouth, Va., urged city council members to pass an ordinance that would give city workers the right to unionize at the Tuesday November, 26 city council meeting.

After accepting donations for police departments, and inaugurating a ‘Small Business Day’ for the city, the city council heard the demands of city workers.

Amidst unsafe working conditions and a rising cost of living, municipal workers are fighting to get the city to follow through on its resolution passed last year that would allow them to form a labor union. However, management has responded with retaliation and harassment for things as small as petitioning. Despite what workers say are dangerous conditions, they refuse to accept or hear complaints.

Workers who support unionization or speak out against their working conditions are met with reprisals from anti-union management. Managers lie to workers about their rights, probe them to see if they want to unionize, and give their opinions on unions. All of these tactics of are prohibited by U.S. labor law.

One worker from fleet maintenance who spoke at the meeting revealed that management refused to even acknowledge a signed petition in which workers expressed safety concerns. The only response offered was that workers who did not like their working conditions could leave.

Members of other local union organizations such as UE, a national union, members of the Fire Department and Paramedics union, and the Tidewater Workers Assembly all showed up to support the public workers and speak to the council members.

“When these workers face unsafe conditions or lack the resources that they need the consequences are felt in many other places including public safety and at the end of that stream is the city at large,” a paramedic who works for Portsmouth said.

An ordinance protecting workers’ right to unionize from Portsmouth’s city council is crucial. City workers play a vital role in the safety and operation of the city. Fleet maintenance maintains the firetrucks and ambulances. Facilities maintenance maintains the upkeep of the fire stations. Public utilities manage the water supply to fight fires. Without them, people could not count on the help of the fire department and ambulance services.

The call for public sector unions in Portsmouth joins a rising shift of workers demanding a more democratic workplace and higher wages across the country. The plight of these workers which compels them to fight back against their material conditions and against their management, is a struggle faced by workers all over the country.

Portsmouth can set the example for the other cities by passing an ordinance to protect these public employees’ right to organize a union, without being punished or lied to by management.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Malik Swain

Malik Swain writes from Virginia.