"Apologies" from a striker

Brothers and sisters:

I just received a phone message from one of the grocery strikers that was picketing up here in Northern California. I spent a few hours on the picket lines with these brothers and sisters and got to know many of them. They were happy that I would come by and picket with them a bit, even if it was for a short time. I occasionally bought them a snack or coffee.

The message below brought me to tears, not because I feel sorry for these brothers and sisters for sacrificing so much for so little, but because this message reminds me of the greatness of working class people. This brother below apologizes because he and his comrades were unable to prevent defeat. In this struggle, homes have been lost and lives wrecked (not Union officials of course). There have even been reports of suicides. Yet this brother apologizes to his brothers and sisters whose contracts are up later this year and who are destined to suffer the same fate. But the members of the UFCW who have fought heroically these five months owe none of us an apology. It is the Labor leadership that owe apologies. The heads of the UFCW, the AFL-CIO and all the major Unions who refuse to abandon their passive employer-friendly policies and who have led us from one disastrous defeat to another. Those who work for unions or who are active in them are also complicit if they continue in their silence, if they continue to put their relationship with the labor hierarchy ahead of the interests of the members.

The brother below exemplifies the calibre of the brothers and sisters who built our Unions. Most of these brothers and sisters never make the history books or the photo ops that the labor officials organize at rally's and the like; organized arrests and pictures of them being carted off by the cops only to be released as planned.

The grocery strike is another in a long line of defeats from Patco to Staley, that are the product of an inept and politically bankrupt Union leadership. There will now be increased demoralization and anger among UFCW members after being led on such a path. Workers as a whole will feel less confident and the employers will intensify their attacks. We will be faced with more battles with employers as well as one that is the hardest one of all, changing the leadership and direction of our organizations.

Richard

Here is the message:

Hey Richard,

This is B. I apologize, I'm so sorry for what this contract gave us. I didn't vote for it. I didn't like it. I've said my piece. But, uh, I guess a lot of people were broken down or whatever.

I feel that the company won. I feel that the union didn't fight hard enough. But I definitely voiced my opinion at the meeting. So I guess I got to go with the flow.

But I apologize for anybody else who is going to have their contract coming up. Thank you for the coffee. Thank you for the encouragement. And thank you for being on my side.

Take care, Rich.

'Bye.