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Quadrtech Workers Win $675,000 Settlement, Ends Two-Year Fight for Union Representation
GARDENA, CA – Ending a two-year struggle to gain a voice and a contract on the job, workers at Quadrtech voted August 3 to accept a $675,000 settlement that brings them a measure of economic justice and the respect they had demanded from the start.
“For the past two years, these workers have been threatened, harassed and some even fired just because they wanted to exercise their right to have a union,” said Michael Hartigan, president of CWA Local 9400, which currently represents the Quadrtech workers. “Many of the workers on the job when the union was first voted in have since left, forced out because of their support for the union. This settlement is a victory in forcing an employer to compensate its workers for exporting their jobs and abusing their rights. Nonetheless, it also spotlights serious deficiencies in the law that allow workers to suffer even when they are in the right.”
The Quadrtech struggle gained national prominence in November 2000 after a federal court issued a first-of-its-kind injunction stopping the company from moving 80 jobs to Mexico. The court found that Quadrtech’s actions were a direct response to the workers’ vote for union representation.
Despite the court’s judgment, Quadrtech continued to subcontract work and move equipment and supplies to Mexico. The company also retaliated against union supporters by isolating them, increasing production quotas, denying overtime and other actions as detailed in more than 100 allegations filed by the union before the National Labor Relations Board. If all conditions of the settlement are met, the settlement will close out those unfair labor practice allegations and end contempt proceedings regarding the initial court injunction.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” stated IUE-CWA President Edward Fire. “By exploiting our legal system, Quadrtech still was able to thwart the workers’ wishes to have a union contract. We believe that the workers would have ultimately prevailed in their charges, but at what cost and to what result? Many had already been forced off the job because of the discrimination against them, or are on disability because of the extreme stress. Quadrtech is a poster case for the obstacles working families face in exercising their right to have a union of their choice. I admire these members’ courage and tenacity.”
The settlement provides severance pay based on length of service, and compensation for vacation, overtime and back wages due to current and former workers. Average backpay awards were $4,600, though some totaled four times that amount. The average severance payment is $3,400. The majority of workers will be laid off starting August 30.
“This entire experience has taught me and my family a lot about our rights under the law, and we have shared that lesson throughout the community,” said Maria Cervantes, an eight-year employee of Quadrtech. “We all would be much worse off if we didn’t have the union fighting with us. The union gave us strength and showed us that we can demand and win justice and dignity.”
The union and the workers thanked NLRB Region 21 staff for the many hours of work they put into pursuing the case and its settlement. “The NLRB was critical to reaching this settlement,” said IUE-CWA District 8 President Bruce Van Ess. “They truly cared about these workers.”
The Quadrtech workers voted to join IUE, the International Union of Electronic Workers in June 2000. Since then, IUE merged with the Communications Workers of America.
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“For the past two years, these workers have been threatened, harassed and some even fired just because they wanted to exercise their right to have a union,” said Michael Hartigan, president of CWA Local 9400, which currently represents the Quadrtech workers. “Many of the workers on the job when the union was first voted in have since left, forced out because of their support for the union. This settlement is a victory in forcing an employer to compensate its workers for exporting their jobs and abusing their rights. Nonetheless, it also spotlights serious deficiencies in the law that allow workers to suffer even when they are in the right.”
The Quadrtech struggle gained national prominence in November 2000 after a federal court issued a first-of-its-kind injunction stopping the company from moving 80 jobs to Mexico. The court found that Quadrtech’s actions were a direct response to the workers’ vote for union representation.
Despite the court’s judgment, Quadrtech continued to subcontract work and move equipment and supplies to Mexico. The company also retaliated against union supporters by isolating them, increasing production quotas, denying overtime and other actions as detailed in more than 100 allegations filed by the union before the National Labor Relations Board. If all conditions of the settlement are met, the settlement will close out those unfair labor practice allegations and end contempt proceedings regarding the initial court injunction.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” stated IUE-CWA President Edward Fire. “By exploiting our legal system, Quadrtech still was able to thwart the workers’ wishes to have a union contract. We believe that the workers would have ultimately prevailed in their charges, but at what cost and to what result? Many had already been forced off the job because of the discrimination against them, or are on disability because of the extreme stress. Quadrtech is a poster case for the obstacles working families face in exercising their right to have a union of their choice. I admire these members’ courage and tenacity.”
The settlement provides severance pay based on length of service, and compensation for vacation, overtime and back wages due to current and former workers. Average backpay awards were $4,600, though some totaled four times that amount. The average severance payment is $3,400. The majority of workers will be laid off starting August 30.
“This entire experience has taught me and my family a lot about our rights under the law, and we have shared that lesson throughout the community,” said Maria Cervantes, an eight-year employee of Quadrtech. “We all would be much worse off if we didn’t have the union fighting with us. The union gave us strength and showed us that we can demand and win justice and dignity.”
The union and the workers thanked NLRB Region 21 staff for the many hours of work they put into pursuing the case and its settlement. “The NLRB was critical to reaching this settlement,” said IUE-CWA District 8 President Bruce Van Ess. “They truly cared about these workers.”
The Quadrtech workers voted to join IUE, the International Union of Electronic Workers in June 2000. Since then, IUE merged with the Communications Workers of America.
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