Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Production and maintenance workers at the Gaylord Chemical manufacturing facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, voted last week to join the International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC), part of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Workers at the plant—who make chemical compounds used in medical and industrial solvents and food additives—reached out to the union a few months ago to begin their organizing efforts. Their landslide election win is even more exciting in the context of Alabama’s “right to work” laws and vocally anti-union lawmakers.
“I just want to thank the [ICWUC] for getting behind us and supporting us. As soon as we reached out to them, they were quick to respond,” one Gaylord Chemical worker stated.
Jordan Easley, ICWUC’s national organizing coordinator, said of the campaign victory: “[Workers] excelled when it came to open support, public support, and the numbers reflected that. They got what they deserve. Obviously most employers don’t want a union, but I think [Gaylord Chemical] were stopped in their tracks. They are reminded that you need workers more than workers need you.”