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New Agreement Provides Better Health Care and Wage Improvements July 14, 2005 On June 26, warehouse workers at Northern Tool & Equipment Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina voted 54-8 to ratify a new four-year contract. Local 71 members won a higher-quality health care plan, a 13.25 percent wage increase over four years, and a key provision allowing temporary workers to become eligible to join the union. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based local’s negotiating team reached an agreement with management shortly after a 24-hour strike on June 10 that paralyzed operations in the warehouse for three days. “The strike really had an impact on them,” said Rubinelle Golden, a seven-year Northern Tool worker. “A lot of the big time truckers, including Yellow Freight and ABS, refused to pick up orders. We didn’t even know some of them but they came down and walked the picket line with us. They were our brothers and sisters.” The strike also made big waves in the community, attracting 30 carloads of police officers, as well as four local television stations and two local newspapers. “People saw that we were able to stand up and come out of it ahead,” said Ernest Wrenn, Local 71 Secretary-Treasurer. “I think it really opened their eyes.” |
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