No Justice, No Pizza

author : Wally Cuddeford topic : labor

by Wally Cuddeford

July 20th, Day 159 of the Pizza Time strike, felt like Day 1 all over again. That was because the strikers picked up their picket signs once again in response to plans to reopen the store. The disputes that put them on strike in February are long past. This time, they're on the picket line to get their jobs back, and to unionize the workplace.

The whole story started back in February. Shane Bloking, who bought the store at that time, used racial slurs on the job and fired one person, presumably for not being white. He also changed store policies that undermined pizza quality and inhibited the ability of the workers to take pride in their work. The workers, including then manager Alex Wentz, met and agreed to present Bloking a list of demands, including the reinstating of the two fired employees and assurances that nobody would ever be fired again without just cause. Bloking rejected these demands, and so the workers went on strike.

Bloking "fired" all of them for going on strike, and then hired a replacement staff. This only lasted a week. Thanks to help from community groups, like the local chapter of the Industrial Workers of the World, and the support of the community at large, sales plummeted so low that the store could not stay open. It closed its doors, and remained closed for the past five months, with the only official word being a sign on the door that said "Closed for remodeling."

In the meantime, the workers continued their struggle for workplace justice, even without an open store to focus on. They were consulting with local labor leaders to assess their rights and options. Flyers were distributed at events like Arts Walk, explaining why the store was closed. Fundraiser benefits were held on behalf of the strikers. The workers helped found the Olympia Workers Association, an organization to support local workers in their labor struggles, as they had been supported when they needed it. Through this organization, they supported other local causes, such as by walking the picket line with the Ramada Inn workers who were being fired for unionizing, and by baking pizzas for strikers at the Global Women's Strike.

Recent events have brought the strike back into full swing. Shane Bloking is long gone, and new owners reopened the franchise. They were told before buying the store that there had been a labor dispute, but they were not told the extent of it. The Olympia Workers Association, on behalf of the striking workers, tried many times to arrange a meeting with the new owners to discuss bringing the striking workers back to work. Heath Flores, one of the new owners, claimed that the new store constitutes a new franchise and that he had no legal obligation to meet with the striking workers at all. Flores tried to meet with some of the strikers individually and not as a group, and he said the striking workers could apply through the normal hiring process and compete to be hired that way, thus breaking their solidarity.

While it's true that the new owners had nothing at all to do with the original conditions that sent the workers out on strike, they bought into that situation and have to respond appropriately. They have an obligation to uphold all the implications of the business they bought into, whether profitable or precarious. Being fired for going on strike is not the same as being fired in itself. It is an unjust labor-busting tactic. The workers were unjustly fired by Shane Bloking for going on strike, and if the new owners truly wanted to not have to live down the mistakes of the previous owner, they should have immediately restored the business to the way it was before Bloking turned it into a quagmire.

Rumor said the store was reopening on Wednesday, July 20th, so the striking Pizza Time workers and community supporters came out to pick the picket signs back up. Their new demands are: The new owners must reinstate all of the striking workers who want their jobs back; the new owners must recognize the workers' right to unionize; and job security must be guaranteed at Pizza Time, so nothing like the unwarranted firings in February can ever happen again. The demands do not include anything about a pay raise, simply that the workers who went on strike in February be returned to work.

The store did not actually open on the 20th. The new owners and replacement workers were doing preparatory work to open the next day, but the strikers still started the picket line back up on that day anyway. Many people on that day had the same question: "Again?" "Nope. Still."

At first, Flores claimed he supported the strikers' right to demonstrate, but in the following days, he filed charges against them through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A representative of the NLRB approached the strikers and told them all the reasons why the owners had every right to shut them out and why the strikers had no legal recourse. She said the NLRB was leaning towards issuing a legal injunction prohibiting the strikers from picketing outside the store. The strikers, in a show of good faith, put away their "On strike" signs and brandished signs that ambiguously said "Support local workers," but were prepared to continue the campaign with or without the NLRB's blessing.

The response of the community was clear. Business at Pizza Time was close to none. The corner of 4th and Jefferson was an endless concert of car horns and screams in support of the strikers. Community members joined the picket line with the strikers, and others brought ice cream and drinks on the hot days. It was clear the community supported the strikers, and it was clear the strikers were not backing down.

Since the picketing was such a huge success, the striking workers have temporarily put down their picket signs as of the writing of this article. The store is not getting enough business to function, and without a surge in business from people who would patronize a unionized pizza shop, it will certainly close its doors again. That would mean the striking workers would lose their jobs, the owners would lose the store they have put money into, and also the replacement workers would lose their jobs. In light of this, the striking workers are arranging negotiations over a union contract, and are even speaking to the replacement workers in the hopes that they will join the drive to unionize. This would help the union meet legal requirements for minimal participation, thus helping the strikers get their jobs back for good, and would stop the replacements from losing their new jobs.

This battle, however, is far from won. The striking workers still need your support if they are to win the fight and become a legal union. The striking Pizza Time workers greatly appreciate all the community support they have received, and want to thank you for making this a labor friendly city! Solidarity!

Stop by the corner of 4th and Jefferson periodically for updates on the progress of the Pizza Time worker struggle. Also visit http://www.olympiaworkers.org .