support locked out workers at Metro Lighting

(1) Join our daily pickets from 12-5:00pm in front of Metro Lighting at 2121 San Pablo in Berkeley;

(2) Donate to our strike fund, make checks payable to the IWW with "metro lock-out fund" in the memo (send them to IWW PO Box 11412 Berkeley, CA 94712 or bring them to the picket line);

(3) Forward this message to your friends, family and fellow workers;

(4) Contact the owners (Lawrence and Christa) of Metro Lighting and let them know that you support the workers and will be taking your business elsewhere. (phone: 1-888-METRO20 )

Employees at Metro Lighting believe that a caustic alkaline chemical was released into their work area as a result of unsafe disposal on Thursday, August 9, 2007. These caustic alkaline chemicals can cause pneumonia and blindness.

Metro owners refused to meet reasonable requests for assurances of safety by independent agencies and instead locked out their employees. Metro has potentially exposed employees and customers to unsafe and hazardous toxic chemicals.

In addition, Metro Lighting:

Engages in unfair wage and labor practices;
Discriminates against older employees;
Disrespects its female employees;
Refuses to bargain in good faith;
Exhibits bitter hostility toward pro-union employees and their organization.
The lock-out is yet another union-busting move on the part of Christa and Lawrence Grown, co-owners of Metro Lighting. Workers have been taking collective action to improve their working conditions over the past five months and are demanding the following before they return to work:
Proper clean-up of all toxic materials by a certified abatement company
Immediate pay raise for sales staff;
Back wages for years of age discrimination.
Join our picket in Solidarity.
For more information, call Gabe at 510-395-1324

Here are some recent news stories:
http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=25601
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=08-14-07&storyID=27763
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=21756 (the story is towards the end of the news cast)