In a significant victory for labor rights, workers at the Georgia-Pacific Sheetrock plant in Antioch, California, have successfully negotiated a 6% wage increase in the first year of a new four-year contract. This contract also includes 3% raises for each of the following three years and retroactive pay dating back to July when their previous contract expired. This strike marked the first for these workers, who are members of ILWU Local 6 and IAM Local 1584, and they received notable support from rail crews, which helped them successfully halt a delivery ship during their strike.
The workers expressed the need for a strike fund and highlighted ongoing concerns about unsafe working conditions. Although the decision to return to work was challenging, many strikers felt that the wage increase, while significant, did not fully meet their expectations for a larger raise. This development comes amidst a broader trend of labor unrest in California, where faculty at California State University are also planning a week-long strike to demand a 12% pay increase, reflecting a growing movement for fair wages and improved working conditions across various sectors in the state [0227a079].