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1 July, 1999An historical breakthrough has occurred for trade union organising in the U.S.
USA: For those who remember some years back the award-winning film, Norma Rae, concerning the extreme difficulties of organising workers in the U.S. South, and for all labour-friendly folks, it is welcome news to hear about UNITE's victory in the nation's largest textile plant, Fieldcrest Cannon, in North Carolina.
The workers' vote in favour of having UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) represent them ends a 93-year epoch. With over 5,200 workers at the company's complex of six plants, in Kannapolis, N.C., this represents the largest victory ever for labour in the South. The company has a history of extreme hostility to labour and often got angry citations from the National Labor Relations Board. This particular win took 25 years and five attempts and could inspire future organising in this and other industries throughout the region.
UNITE's secretary-treasurer commented that "it feels like we just organised General Motors.... It puts the lie to the notion that southern workers are anti-union. It's southern employers who are anti-union."
The workers' vote in favour of having UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) represent them ends a 93-year epoch. With over 5,200 workers at the company's complex of six plants, in Kannapolis, N.C., this represents the largest victory ever for labour in the South. The company has a history of extreme hostility to labour and often got angry citations from the National Labor Relations Board. This particular win took 25 years and five attempts and could inspire future organising in this and other industries throughout the region.
UNITE's secretary-treasurer commented that "it feels like we just organised General Motors.... It puts the lie to the notion that southern workers are anti-union. It's southern employers who are anti-union."