Johnson Controls Workers On Strike

Johnson Controls workers have been on strike at the Albany Plant since May 17th, demanding better pay and better working conditions. David Steele, a union rep for Sheet Metal Workers Local #2, which represents the workers, said that the strike was about poor working conditions, low pay, excessive overtime, and not enough family time for employees. “Some overtime is OK, but too much is not,” he said. The strike began after the union rejected a contract. Subsequently, the union made a proposal to the company which was rejected. Steele said that they would work out dates to meet after Memorial Day Weekend.

Steele said that the workers had done everything that was asked of them. Previously, Johnson Controls nearly closed the plant and moved to Mexico in 2006, only for workers to pick up production and get the closure postponed indefinitely. “And here we are 14 years later,” he said. “We were turning in more profits than expected, and corporate saw for themselves that this was a good plant.” He said that this time, the issue was not with corporate headquarters, but with local management, which he said was not respecting workers’ work/life balance.

Steve Ruch, another union representative, told the Express that one issue was with open overtimes, meaning that the company could call in workers to work overtime at any time, for up to 12 hours at a time and 60 hours a week. “It just doesn’t work out for our workers,” he said. “We all have families.”
Ever since the strike broke out, workers have been picketing the plant daily and holding signs. One person spun their tires and drove off, but many others honked horns in support of the workers.