On Monday, Nov. 11, workers from Bigfoot Beverages and Franz Bakeries were joined by over 80 people rallying support for the union members across the state already on the picket line.
“We’re here to recognize and appreciate the resilience, the sacrifice and the bravery that you and your co-workers of the fighting Teamsters and the fighting bakers union have shown by building a strong campaign and taking this brave stance,” Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor said. Standing in front of the statue of Wayne Morse in the Free Speech Plaza named after him, Trainor said they’re continuing to fight for labor, just as the U.S. senator from Oregon did during the 20th century.
“You have picked a fight with the wrong group of people,” Trainor said. “The Oregon and the Lane County labor movements will never back down, we will never stop fighting and we will never stop standing with our brothers and sisters at Bigfoot and Franz until you settle a fair contract.”
The labor unions gathered in the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in front of the county courthouse to rally support for the ongoing strikes against Franz Bakery and Bigfoot Beverages and call attention to other possible strikes.
The Teamsters Local 206 and 324 — entering their 54th day on the picket line in front of Bigfoot Beverages locations across Oregon — were joined by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 114 who began their strike against Franz Bakery on Oct. 31.
Trainor said United Academics Local 3209 of the University of Oregon are heavily considering setting up a picket line. He then noted the OSU Coalition of Graduate Employees and the Greater Albany Education Association — both of which are now striking.
Trainor says Oregon’s AFL-CIO represents over 300,000 unionized employees statewide, from the Teamsters to teachers to nurses.
“When you take one of us on, you take all of us on,” Trainor said.
Over 80 people were in attendance, including incoming state Rep. Lisa Fragala.
Speaking after the rally, Johnny Earl, the statewide president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 503, says the next generation of American laborers deserve to have pensions. “We’ve moved so much into 401(k)s. Pensions are in a down swing. They are something that has helped people really sustain themselves,” Earl says.
Earl says this is only the beginning of the private sector’s attack on worker’s benefits. “Everyone deserves to retire in dignity,” he says. “This is an attack on everyone.”
Taking the stage, Earl said the average American worker is severely undervalued and underappreciated. “In private sector businesses they don’t appreciate me at all. Or you,” he said.
“It’s time that we stick together and show them what labor can do in this day and age,” Earl said to a cheering crowd.
Fragala, who also spoke, says it’s vital to support all workers in Lane County. A former member of the Eugene Education Association, a teachers union, Fragala says “labor in this country, state and county is strong.”
“We take care of each other and working families are at the center of that,” she says.
BCTGM members William Paget and Daniel Smith say they have not been taken care of by their employer, Franz Bakery. Paget alleges Franz Bakery employees work six days a week in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
Franz Bakery did not respond to Eugene Weekly’s request for comment.
Facing a fired-up crowd, Trainor ended his speech by challenging state-level public institutions. “We are calling on the University of Oregon and other public institutions to pause their purchasing agreements with Bigfoot Beverages and Franz Bakery until a fair contract is reached,” he said.