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Berkeley/San Fran. Krug Actions
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Progressive Portal
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Jan 03, 2002 17:56 PST
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Hello:
The article below, referencing the Berkeley City Council's passage of a
resolution regarding the Krug Winery lockout recommended by the Peace
and Justice Commission, may also be read on the Web at:
es/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=DE620E52-39FD-48D7-AC9C-004FD9E16DC9
[Enter the above URL all on one line in your Web browser.]
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Krug labor standoff hits six-month mark
Bay Area cities call for boycott of winery's product
Thursday, January 3, 2002
By NATHAN CRABBE
Register Staff Writer
While legislative bodies in Napa County have been silent about the
lockout at Charles Krug Winery, the Berkeley City Council last month
declared its support of workers and called for a boycott of Krug wines.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering similar action.
Matt Gonzalez, a supervisor who sponsored a resolution against the
lockout, is scheduled to speak Saturday at a rally for workers at a St.
Helena park.
Such are the politics of the lockout, which today marks its six-month
anniversary. Negotiations between management and the Food and Commercial
Workers Union were held yesterday, but there was no immediate news from
the session.
The current impasse began July 3 when more than 40 production workers
were given their paychecks and turned away at the gate of the St. Helena
winery. The workers' contract ran out more than three months before and
negotiations for a new contract had stalled.
The union alleges the company would cut jobs and many workers' wages in
a proposed restructuring. The winery claims its contract offer is being
wrongly characterized and most workers would actually gain pay in the
proposal.
Workers' supporters have spread word of the lockout throughout the Bay
Area and the rest of the country. In addition to local action, UC Davis
has held a forum on the lockout and the website Progressive Portal has
coordinated a letter-writing campaign.
Tom Fossey, chief financial officer at Krug, said the efforts have had
minimal impact on wine sales.
"We haven't seen it in our sales volume," Fossey said.
Fossey said last week that the addition of a negotiator from the union's
national office and a federal mediator to the mix have improved the tone
of contract talks.
"There's reason to say we could be more optimistic," he said.
Workers, however, are less hopeful. Frank Espinoza, a foreman shipper
who worked at Krug for 42 years, said workers didn't think the lockout
would last this long and feels both sides are still far apart.
Espinoza, among picketers in front of Raley's supermarket last week in
Napa, said he believed ongoing protests held at the winery and area
stores have damaged the winery's image in the community.
"I think we're hurting them just as bad as they think they're hurting
us," he said.
Union seeks government support The union and its supporters have also
turned to Bay Area city councils and supervisors for support, but not
the Napa county board or city councils of the county's five cities and
town.
Lauren Coodley, a Napa Valley College history professor who has helped
organized events for workers, said outside government bodies are less
influenced by wine industry support than those in Napa County.
"It's a local issue, so they should" be interested, Coodley said. "But
given who's on them, it's expected." St. Helena Vice Mayor Frank Toller
said its city council doesn't take stands on such issues.
"It would be most unusual for this city council to become involved in a
dispute between management and labor," Toller said.
Labor activists in the East Bay and San Francisco have promoted
resolutions against the lockout before government groups in those areas.
The issue has been framed as nationally significant because Krug has the
only remaining union-represented production workers in Napa County.
Steve Zeltzer, a San Francisco labor documentary producer, said the
lockout is internationally relevant because of the presence of
multinational companies in the local wine industry.
Zeltzer said those companies pay workers in other countries a better
wage than its U.S. workers.
"The wine industry ... should provide workers with a decent life," he
said.
Zeltzer is promoting a resolution in support of workers before the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Gonzalez sponsored the
resolution, which was directed last month to a committee on such issues.
Zeltzer and Gonzalez are among speakers scheduled to appear Saturday at
a rally set for 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m. at Lyman Park in St. Helena.
The Berkeley council is well-known for making statements about events
outside its local jurisdiction, most famously with its recent
proclamation against the U.S. war in Afghanistan. It passed a resolution
Dec. 18 calling for a boycott of Krug wines.
Some workers said area activists have helped them through the difficult
lockout, but don't see their actions as swaying the company toward
agreeing to their demands.
Alfredo Martin, who ran bottling lines for Krug and has been with the
company for more than 30 years, said the long-lasting lockout could only
mean Krug is trying to force out the union.
"We knew they wanted to break the union," Martin said.
Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 256-2260 or ncra-@napanews.com.
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