Why Belong to a Union?

By DAVID MACARAY

One of the more
compelling reasons for belonging to a union (besides the wages,
benefits, etc.) is the job security it provides.  The following account
of a woman—whom I’ll call “Gloria”—employed at Kimberly-Clark’s
Fullerton paper mill illustrates how important that job protection is.

Gloria worked
as a multifolder console operator in the Folded Products department. 
Her job was to keep the machine loaded with KDFs (knocked-down-flat
cartons), into which an endless stream of freshly made Kleenex was being
stuffed at the rate of 300 cpm (clips per minute).  Gloria worked
non-stop, loading the machine with one 20-pound box of KDFs after
another, lifting them off pallets supplied by a forklift driver. 

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SOUTH YARMOUTH — Sylvia S. (Breed) Bumpus, of
South Yarmouth, died Saturday, July 10, 2010, at her home in South
Yarmouth surrounded by her loving family.

She
was the beloved wife of the late Robert E. Bumpus.

"Layoffs Are Not the New Crimson” - HUCTW and Supporters Rally Against Mass Layoffs at Harvard
by Ana Traynin (Staff), Mar-30-10

Cambridge, MA - About 80 people rallied outside the Holyoke Center administration building at Harvard University early Thursday evening in support for the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. The group gathered to protest the recent announcement of five more union employees losing their jobs at the Sackler Museum at the end of June. The rally also expressed outrage at the continued layoff trend, highlighting the loss of over 340 union jobs since last year, last spring’s forced early-retirement offers and the hiring of temporary employees. It was the latest demonstration in the ongoing No Layoffs Campaign at Harvard.

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