The reason 85 workers are on the picketline at the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District is a matter of simple justice, the chair of the union bargaining unit said.

If management gets what they want in the new contract, "some people are not going to be able to bring bread home," Alex Livadaros said. "It is totally unjust."

Members of AFSCME Local 66 went on strike against WLSSD, the agency that provides sewage treatment services for Duluth and surrounding areas, on Dec. 3. Workers had been without a contract for 11 months.

Job security is the dominant issue, the strikers said. In the past few years, the number of employees at WLSSD has shrunk from 129 to 85 in part because certain services have been shut down and others have been contracted out.

WLSSD is insisting that it have the right to retain temporary employees while laying off permanent full-time employees and unilaterally create part-time positions from current full-time positions.

"They don't have to pay them (part-time workers) the same wages and benefits," noted Greg Vruno, a 12-year employee of WLSSD who walked the picketline at the main plant.

Management also wants to double the cost of health insurance to employees. That means some workers at the lower end of the pay scale would actually earn less under the new contract they than did before, because they will have to pay more for health care, Livadaros said.

While the WLSSD board crossed the picketline Monday night for a meeting, hundreds of supporters joined the strikers outside in calling for a just settlement. No talks are scheduled.

Union Representative Alan Netland said all full-time employees are participating in the strike. The plant has continued to operate with managers and some scab replacement workers, but the union questions the quality of the service.

"We don't know if they're maintaining standards," he said. The Environmental Protection Agency has been asked to investigate.

In the meantime, strikers say spirits are high on the picketline.

"Our union has really pulled together," said Heather Rondling, a 10-year employee. "We have people stopping by all day" bringing food and wood to fuel a fire in the picketers' warmup house.

Livadaros said the stakes in the strike are high. If WLSSD employees are forced to make big concessions, it would set a trend for all contract negotiations.

"I know the City of Duluth is in negotiations and they are watching us very closely," he said.

What you can do

Strikers are asking people in the Duluth area to contact members of the WLSSD board and urge a fair settlement:

WLSSD Board of Directors

Appointed by City of Duluth
Jane Gilbert, chair, 218-525-5198
Robert Prusak, 218-525-2170
Mark Dylla, 218-724-4066
Bill Majewski, 218-626-2638

Appointed by City of Cloquet
Fred Little, 218-879-0514
Herb Johnson, member of negotiations committee, 218-879-6948
Marianne Bohren, 218-879-7025

Appointed by Carlton County
Larry Beckstrom, 218-384-4114

Appointed by St. Louis County
Richard Holt, member of negotiations committee, 218-729-6781

Related article

Duluth sanitary district workers strike