by Dan Creighton for the August issue of PIC Press.
 

38 women of UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile
Employees) local 1764 continue to strike against sock manufacturer
J.B. Fields in Trenton. On the picket line since March 23, the garment
workers are demoralized, their union is divided and they feel the company
may succeed in breaking their union.

"Moral is not very high" says union president Steacy Rousseau. "The
women on this picket line are hurting. Our strike pay is only $75.00 per
week and many of the women who work in the plant are single mothers who
have nobody else to rely on.  Women on the picket line are regularly
harassed and some even receive threatening phone calls. To add to this,
Rousseau fears that the company may push for decertification of the
union, a process now made easier by the Tory government's new
pro-business labour legislation.

The company, formerly called Vagden Mills, unilaterally decreased wages
in August, 1995. Following a reversal of the wage roll-backs by the
Labour Relations Board in March of 1997, the company filed for
bankruptcy only to reopen almost immediately under the new J.B. Fields
name.

Under J.B. Fields, the hourly rate of the 12 men working at the plant
was reduced from $13.45 per hour to $13.00 per hour.  For the remainder
of the production line workers - all women - making an average of $12.00
per hour, wages were reduced to anywhere between $7.07 and $10.45 per
hour dependent on meeting a production quota. "Realistically", says
Rousseau, a 16 year production line worker, "its not possible to meet
the increased production quotas. "We would all end up making the minimum
rate of $7.07 per hour."

"The truth" says Rousseau "is that they are trying to get rid of the
union. That scares me because it's been a long struggle to make the
gains we've made."

About 20 years ago, union members established a health and safety
committee and, over time, significant improvements were made to working
conditions. "I can remember days when women would regularly pass out on
the production line floor with machines running at 400 degrees F and no
ventilation. They would come and pick us up, take us off the floor and
then put us right back again when we came to."

"Only a few years ago", Rousseau explains, "women would get open sores
on their hands and some would start losing hair." A workers' health and
safety centre assessment determined that improper ventilation was
recirculating chemicals throughout the production facility and these
chemicals were being absorbed into the workers' skin. "Now", Rousseau
says, "production workers wear full protective suits, gloves and face
shields. We have showers between each machine in the dye house in case
of a chemical spill."

J.B. Fields president Kris Murthy also owns Ontario Hosiery and Fabric
Colour. Rousseau recently had a chance to visit the Scarborough
facility. There, she says, the facilities are non-union and use mostly
immigrant labourers. "It made me sick to see that facility" says
Rousseau. "I had to leave. They don't wear gloves, safety glasses, or
ear protection. They don't even have a chemical room. Instead, the
chemicals are just dumped on the floor and swept down the drain. They
don't even have rubber boots to protect them from the chemicals. These
workers too have open sores on their hands from the peroxide in the
dyes."

Community support for the striking women has been good, but the women
are really worn down. Some women have crossed the line but still support
the strike. "For some, they are afraid. They can't afford to strike and
for others their husbands just won't let them." Rousseau herself has
been fired three times and each time the Labour Relations Board ordered
the company to reinstate her due to unjust dismissal.

"The issue for us is simple", says Rousseau. "We want to work with
dignity and respect. Our story is important because it is about what can
happen to any worker in the Province of Ontario, now that Mike Harris
has made it legal to hire strike-breakers. We're not going to give up
yet", says Rousseau. A boycott of J.B. Fields socks has been started.
Sears, Moore's, Club Monaco and Wall-Mart all sell J.B. Fields socks.
"Just look for the label!"