ILWU Local 6 member Arturo Lobato spoke to members of Congress who gathered in Oakland for a town hall meeting on August 16th. The event, called “Speak Out for Good Jobs Now,” was held at the Acts Full Gospel Church in East Oakland.
Lobato spoke to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, and Congressional Progressive Caucus Co- Chair Raul Grijalva of Arizona.
Lobato, who works at the Bayer pharmaceutical plant in nearby Berkeley, explained how his co-workers have been trying to win better job security, safe staffing and a fair contract. He said it was ironic that a
wealthy international-healthcare corporation like Bayer was trying to raise the cost that he and other employees would pay for health insurance by $3900 during the next 4 years – an increase of over 16%.
Workers reject Bayer contract proposal
On August 31st, Bayer workers voted by a 3-1 margin to reject the company’s contract proposal that would make health insurance unaffordable. Other concerns included Bayer’s failure to provide job security
or address unsafe staffing levels that now plague the plant. The democratically-elected union negotiating committee described Bayer’s proposal as “stingy.”
Workers in Berkeley have received letters of solidarity from unionized Bayer workers throughout the US and Germany.