Valley Strikers Cheer End of 15-Day Action

SYLMAR — Picketers at the United Parcel Service hub here pumped their fists in the air late Monday and danced and hugged one another as a settlement ending their 15-day strike was announced.

As some details were announced, they cheered every provision--especially wage increases for part-timers, safety assurances and changes in the pension plan.

“This is history,” said Lou Ortiz, a retired UPS truck driver. “We made history tonight.”

The first hint of a settlement came shortly after 7 p.m., through the union’s word-of-mouth network. About a dozen picketers--the regulars of the swing shift--began buzzing with anticipation.

Their picket signs began to droop--first falling on shoulders, and eventually to the ground. Their repetitious route at the hub’s entrance, beneath two American flags they’d placed in a chain-link fence, soon disintegrated into nervous pacing as they listened anxiously to the radio of a green GMC pickup truck for news.

Meanwhile, at the UPS hub in Van Nuys, motorists honked and gave about 15 picketers the thumbs-up as they clustered around a small, battery-operated television set perched atop a newspaper box, monitoring news reports. They held their breath when the news turned to strike developments, but sighed several times as the announcement was delayed.

The lawn chairs and the coolers of punch that had sustained them through two weeks on the picket line were barely touched on what everyone hoped would be their final night.

It would prove to be a long wait as the official announcement was held up until nearly the end of their picket shift.

“We won! We won! Yeah, baby!” jubilant workers shouted.

Most of the pickets at the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County facilities, as elsewhere, were carried by part-time workers--the key issue in the labor action. About 58% of UPS jobs are filled by part-time workers, and their $8-an-hour base salary has not increased since 1982.

“I can’t get full-time,” said Gamlet Vardanyan, a 22-year-old part-time package sorter in Van Nuys. “I want it, but they won’t give it to me. I’ve got a disabled mother and sister at home. It’s been very hard on us.”

Part-time workers were optimistic that the strike settlement would improve their lot in the long run.

“The whole country will benefit from this,” said Phyllis Ramirez, a 38-year-old clerk from San Fernando who has worked part-time at UPS for 10 years.

“Every working family will benefit,” she added. “It will send a message to other corporations who are cheating workers by creating more part-time jobs. But there are no part-time bills, no part-time rent.”

In Ventura County, Camarillo resident Michael Noirot, a 10-year UPS employee, welcomed the end of the strike as a chance to give his 3-day-old son, Brandon Michael, a bit of security.

“His middle name is Picket,” Noirot joked.

Some of the picketers said the two-week walkout had created hard feelings between workers and supervisors.

In Sylmar, the picketers spoke of a part-time worker who was so desperate for a paycheck that he crossed the picket line. Once inside, he was told there was no work for him.

“He caught a lot of flak,” said Al Tate, 47, of Culver City, a full-time truck driver for 25 years. “We all have bills, mortgages and car payments.”

Other picketers told tales of supervisors’ inability to perform rank-and-file jobs.

In Sylmar, a supervisor filled up a delivery truck with unleaded instead of diesel fuel. It came back on the hook of a tow truck.

“Most of them don’t know how to drive a stick shift,” said Jessenia Arrizon, 21, of San Fernando, a part-time address clerk. “We got our laughs from seeing them drive,” she said. “There were a lot of grinding gears and stalls.”

Laughing, Stella Valencia of Pacoima said: “They should go back to their desk jobs.”

Times correspondents Jon Steinman and Veronique de Turenne contributed to this story.