THIS JUST IN: Daycon Strikers Win Long Battle for Justice
Friday, November 9, 2012
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)It took two and a half years but the Teamsters
639 strike against Daycon is finally over. The
Upper Marlboro, MD-based janitorial and
maintenance supply company is calling the last
remaining strikers back to work after a US
Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday upheld NLRB
rulings in the union’s favor. “We won every
ounce” said a jubilant Local 639 Business
Agent Doug Webber. In addition to being ordered
to bring all the union members back to work,
Daycon owes strikers back pay and benefits
“and must return to the table and bargain
fairly” for a new contract, Webber told Union
City last night. Local 639 members at Daycon
struck in 2010 when management illegally
implemented their bargaining proposals and
although the strikers subsequently offered to
return to work, the company refused to re-hire
them and engaged in what the NLRB determined
were a series of unfair labor practices.
“We’re proud of our members, who hung in
this fight for the long haul,” said Local 639
President Tommy Ratliff.
“And we couldn’t have won this battle
without the support of the Metro Washington
Council, the Community Services Agency, and the
entire local labor community, which came
together to support this struggle.” Said
Metro Council President Jos Williams, “As if
any more proof were needed after our wins at
the ballot box on Tuesday, Local 639’s
victory shows once more that solidarity, as
always, works!” - report by Chris Garlock;
photos of the 2010 Daycon strike by Adam Wright
and Chris Garlock