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THE METRO LIGHTING DRAMA OF 2007

Dear customers, other members of the public, and the just plain curious,

Perhaps you saw picketers in front of Metro lighting, or heard about a "labor dispute" that was happening. It was ridiculous, and we are glad it's behind us. Here's what happened.

Back in May, 2007, a small group of employees attempted to assert control over Metro Lighting. They brought in two members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) for support. Their requests ranged from the reasonable- a new water cooler and phones, to the outrageous- paid lunch, a 100% pay increase and unlimited time off. We accommodated where we could, and said, "No," to changes that were incongruous with business reality.

We discussed the issues extensively throughout May, June and July. When we refused to buckle to every demand, the staff responded by staging a walk-out on August 8th on false claims of health concerns.

Those concerns were immediately addressed, but despite experts stating that no hazard existed, the employees returned the next day to form a picket line with a dozen members of the IWW. They had signs and leaflets claiming that Metro had "released caustic alkaline," and made many other false accusations of union-busting, mistreatment and discrimination. It was a nightmare.

Within two days, the City of Berkeley and various Industrial Hygienists consulted with us and agreed that the health concerns were without merit. But even after CalOSHA inspected and found NO VIOLATIONS, the picketers still asserted to know better.

Then they claimed they had been locked out. It is true that we changed the locks after the first full day of slanderous picketing; who wouldn't? But we still welcomed our workers back. They filed for unemployment, which was denied by the State, since they voluntarily walked out. They appealed to the National Labor Relations Board, but the NLRB ruled against them.

Each of the many other fictitious claims has been proven false. Addressing all of the accusations required a lot of our time and resources, but in the end, The City of Berkeley, Cal OSHA, Employment Development, and the National Labor Relations Board have all supported Metro Lighting.

So how did it all go wrong? It seems that one bad apple managed to turn things to his advantage through manipulation and lies. We speculate that he gets a thrill from power, and must have loved seeing all the commotion he caused.

So now we have a mostly new staff- including three new skilled workers who bring over 25 years of lighting fabrication experience to our shop! Through it all, our community gave us lots of support. Thank you for sustaining us! We even had a wonderful celebration. Please see: "METRO Lighting Celebration Benefit 2007"

HERE IS THE GOOD PART

Let's start with the product.