Phone Zap to Support IWW Workers in Seattle

Take action to support Wobblies in Seattle, Washington fighting on the job.

In support of our fellow workers in IU650 at Grassroots Campaigns, Inc., we are calling on all Wobblies and friends to participate in a phone zap of GCI’s headquarters! We’re asking people to call between 9am and 5pm East Coast time, 6am-2pm West Coast.

GCI canvassers fundraise on the street for a variety of “progressive” organizations. The company itself, though, is the very model of exploitation under capitalism, with brutal turnover, low wages and benefits, and blatant union busting.

In March of this year, GCI’s Seattle Director and members of IWW IU650 at GCI signed and ratified a union contract. In the contract, the workers were guaranteed a number of paid holidays, including May 1 (International Workers Day). GCI has since violated the contract, and the workers were not paid for that holiday.

We are asking all Wobblies and allies to call GCI’s headquarters to remind them of their financial and legal obligation to honor the contract signed with their workers. We want to pressure them to uphold this specific part of the contract as well as remind them that there will be pushback if they violate other parts of the contract as well.

Info:

(617) 830-7986 and (979) 448-8882 Legal Department and chief union buster (Laurie Owen) [email protected]
(617) 423-0431 National Admin
(617) 542-0830 GCI Payroll [email protected]
(617) 338-7882 Central Field Office
(860) 575-0941 Steve King (Assistant National Director) [email protected]
(617) 338-7883
(269) 599-4398  Accounting Department (David Hackman)

Sample Script:

Hello. My name is __________. (first name is fine)

I am calling about the unionized workers at the Seattle branch of GCI. I understand that they signed a contract with the Seattle Director and in that contract, they were guaranteed some paid holidays. It has come to my attention that the workers were not paid for May 1st or “May Day,” which was specified in their contract. I demand that they be paid according to the contract that was signed between the union and your company.

I also want to remind you that GCI has a financial and legal obligation to honor the contract that was signed by your company and the workers.

There is no good reason why you should not honor the contract. Your company’s representative engaged in contract negotiations, this contract is the result, and now your company has to live up to it.

Pay the workers now. Thank you for your time.