As the waters subside, the prices rise - but not the wages. Strange... Some potentially serious fightback in response to the ongoing devastation of New Orleans. Reposting this from a mailing list complete with intro by Amiri Barksdale who collated the news pieces.
B
I posted this to another list, but it's well worth duplication.
Katrina was pretty awful, but there was no real working class
response to any of it (not counting individual assistance like labor,
food and time donations, etc.). Until now. Workers in The MIssissippi
shipyards owned by military contractor Northrop Grumman are striking.
It's a 5-union strike, and they may have it well in hand, but this
thing goes so deep that I wonder if they can maintain control.
One of the following articles is from the NYT today and one is
background from the FT in 2005. The last is from a Mississippi paper
reproducing the blackmail strategy that worked to enforce givebacks
throughout the 80s: the old "we're in this together" thing. But it
works slightly differently with military contractors. It's directly
"political," in the sense that Congress and the Pentagon determine
who gets the military money.
Amiri
__________
March 13, 2007
Strike at Big Shipyard Is Yet Another Effect of Katrina
By ADAM NOSSITER
PASCAGOULA, Miss., March 12 — The long arm of Hurricane Katrina has
pushed thousands off the job and on strike at one of the nation’s
biggest shipyards here, workers and union officials say.
On Thursday, nearly 7,000 workers went on strike at the Ingalls
shipyard, owned by Northrop Grumman, which builds ships for the Navy.
On the picket line Monday, strikers said they were demanding better
wages and benefits to make up for sharp post-Katrina increases in the
price of everything from milk to gas to rent, which they said are
bringing family finances to the breaking point.
The walkout here is believed to be the first major strike related to
Hurricane Katrina, which continues to disrupt many aspects of life up
and down the Gulf Coast. Few places were as hard-hit as this small
industrial town, where the water crept halfway up downtown and the
beachfront was wiped out, and workers spoke Monday of losing homes,
cars and a way of life to the storm.
They left the shipyard, which has supported this region for decades,
after rejecting a modest increase in the $18.32 an hour many now
make. Workers here said the wage rise would be wiped out by a steep
increase in health insurance premiums, and would be inadequate to
counter the storm’s lingering fallout.
They earn some of the highest wages in the area, at Mississippi’s
largest employer. But many workers said they were still struggling,
speaking of payday loans from the company credit union just to buy
gasoline. They said the company’s offer of a $2.50-per-hour raise
over three years was not good enough, with local rents and house
prices having doubled, in some cases, and a $2.59 gallon of milk now
costing $4.19. Throw in a proposed $50-per-month health premium
increase, and the raise disappears, they said.
“Folks have already been through a hard time with Katrina,” said
Willie Hammond, a forklift driver and father of three. “They left
their houses to get this company up and running, and this is how they
show their appreciation? It was an insult to the employees, that
little offer they made us.”
Bill George, a pipe welder, said prices in the area had quadrupled
since the storm. “Half the people here are living in trailers,” he said.
Natasha Smith, a painter, said her rent had risen to $801 a month,
from $669. “We’re single parents, and we can’t make it on what
they’re paying us,” she said.
A company spokesman said Monday that there were no plans for
negotiations. In a statement, Northrop Grumman said its offer was
“fair and competitive,” and noted that other company plants in the
region had accepted it. The company added: “It was our desire that
this labor agreement address the financial challenges of Katrina, and
we believe the proposed contract did just that.” Workers sharply
disputed that contention, however.
“Katrina took everything, and now they’re trying to take the main
thing, our dignity,” said Shirley Hayes, who oversees shipments on
the assembly line. “They’re just playing us cheap,” she said.
John Reed, an electrician, said, “We’re living out here paycheck to
paycheck, and we’re tired of it.”
Like other strikers, Mr. Reed was standing near the dusty median of
the plant’s long entrance road, which was picket central on Monday.
The strikers had set up tents and barbecue grills in the mild spring
weather, and the blues blared from giant speakers. The shipyard’s
major projects — a giant destroyer and several transport ships —
loomed in the distance on the Mississippi Sound, and seagulls whirled
overhead.
The shipyard has been a mainstay in Pascagoula since before World War
II. Dozens of businesses here depend on its paychecks, and at
quitting time the local roads are clogged. The destroyer Cole was
repaired here after the terrorist attack on its hull, and over the
years the yard has turned out cruisers, destroyers, submarines and
ammunition ships.
Workers have not struck the plant since 1999, and local officials
speak fearfully about the effects of a prolonged strike. Still, there
appeared to be considerable support for the workers in town — grocery
stores have donated ice, water and hot dogs.
With the company not budging, the strikers were vowing to settle in
for the long haul. “If we can survive Katrina, we can survive this,”
Mr. Reed said.
Indeed, the workers here displayed a remarkable nonchalance about the
hardships ahead. Bobby Hinger, the steward of the carpenters’ shop,
stayed at the plant during the storm, water up to his neck. Then, he
said: “They gave us a steak dinner and a jacket that don’t fit us,
and they said, ‘See ya.’ This isn’t about being greedy. It’s about
being paid what we’re worth.”
__________
Northrop says Katrina will depress profits
By Andrew Ward in Atlanta, FT.com site
Published: Oct 10, 2005
Northrop Grumman has warned that its earnings will be lower than
expected this year because of $1bn of damage and work delays at its
Gulf coast shipyards following Hurricane Katrina.
Three of the defence contractor's facilities in Mississippi and
Louisiana were in the path of the devastating storm six weeks ago.
Work was delayed on 11 ships at the yards in New Orleans, Gulfport
and Pascagoula but Ron Sugar, chief executive, pledged the company
would catch up next year.
"While the damage is significant, Northrop has weathered this
disaster and will come back even stronger than before," he told
investors, during a conference call. "Our team has already made solid
progress in restoring the yards and resuming production."
The company said storm-related costs, including contract penalties
for delayed ship deliveries, would reduce full-year earnings by 40
cents a share to a range of $3.55-$3.65 a share. However, guidance
for 2006 earnings remained unchanged at $4.10-$4.30.
Work has resumed on all 11 ships under construction but more than
7,000 of its 20,000-strong workforce in the Gulf coast region remain
off work and 700 are unaccounted for. Many employees lost their homes
in the storm and have evacuated out of the area.
Northrop said it expected to recover the "preponderance" of the
estimated $1bn of cost of repairing and clearing up its storm-damaged
facilities. But it warned of a dispute with its insurance provider
over some of the losses. The company's Pascagoula and Gulfport
shipyards were particularly badly hit by the 25ft storm surge that
battered the Mississippi coastline.
Nick Fothergill, analyst at Banc of America Securities, said the
profit warning was "largely expected and should not be taken too
negatively."
In addition to the impact of work delays, contract penalties and
storm damage, the company said it would also be affected by increased
labour and material costs following Katrina.
Northrop said that the cost of putting its shipbuilding business back
on schedule would reduce near-term working capital but it did not
expect "a material impact to its overall financial health".
The company reduced its forecast for 2005 revenues by $1bn to a range
of $30.5bn-$31bn.
__________
MIssissippi Sun-Herald
Strike could affect economy
By MARGARET BAKER
margaretbaker1@aol.com
Posted on Fri, Mar. 09, 2007
PASCAGOULA - Economic-development leaders are keeping a close eye on
the strike at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems to see how much lost
wages will dip into sales in this Jackson County community.
"No doubt about it, we're in an unfortunate situation," said George
Freeland, director of the Jackson County Economic Development
Foundation. 'I'm not going to skirt around it. It's undeniable. We've
got to be honest that there is going to be an undeniable short-term
impact to the economy as a result of the temporary loss of income
into the community from the labor force."
Still, Freeland and others, including local and state lawmakers, say
it's too soon to gauge the overall effects of the strike.
"The extent of the impact," Freeland said, "will of course be driven
by the duration of this strike and obviously we don't know what that
is going to be right now."
By mid-afternoon Thursday, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., had issued
a statement encouraging a quick resolve to the strike.
"Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is executing major contracts that are
linked to America's national security and making sure our military
has the best tools to protect our nation," Lott said. "My dad was a
union member... and growing up in the shadow of the shipyard, I've
seen a number of labor disputes.
"A protracted strike could send the wrong message as Mississippi's
Congressional delegation works hard to ensure our shipyard continues
having a fair shot at winning work. We're recently been successful in
securing good contracts. Employment in Pascagoula is rising.
Certainly, no one wants to jeopardize that."
Other lawmakers echoed the sentiment, saying they hope an agreement
could be reached before the strike has a more dire effect on the
community.
Said U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran: "I hope a resolution of this situation
can be reached soon. The Gulf Coast has had more than its share of
hardships. We need to find a way to move forward together into a new
era of prosperity."
Freeland said he doesn't expect the strike to have an immediate
impact on recruiting new business to the state.
The bottom line, officials said, is the longer the strike lasts the
greater impact it will have on economic development and investor-
recruitment efforts.
"Jackson County has a very long history of stable working
relationships between labor and management in the shipyard," Freeland
said, "and as such, what we're experiencing now is absolutely the
exception rather than the norm."
