Blisters don’t impede strikers

Lynn Waddell

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 12:06 p.m.

First published Jan. 13, 1992.

BARSTOW, Calif. - As they walked by storefronts here, a few Frontier Hotel strikers were favoring badly blistered feet as they reached the halfway point of a 300-mile protest march from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

But any ideas of giving up dissolved with the sounds of car home and the sight of a plane banner overhead reading, "Frontier, halfway to justice."

"I've got bad blisters, but it's worth it," said Lucio Mendoza, a casino porter making the journey

Twelve union members are marching across the Mojave Desert to draw attention to the Frontier strike and a pending U.S. Senate bill that will outlaw permanent replacements of striking workers.

The marchers and about 50 additional Las Vegas union members drew plenty of attention with signs and banners as they walked through this small blue-collar town Saturday.

"They have a lot of guts," Barstow resident Frank Wyman said. "People in this town are blowing and waving. They understand what's going on because almost everyone here works for the railroad or the military."

Wyman is vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow.

The march has drawn national media attention as well as widespread support. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, and AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland are among those who have sent letters of encouragement.

March leader Scott Mackenzie said the march has taken a physical toll on the participants. Blisters, swollen feet and aching muscles have been among the complaints.

"You can look at some of these people's feet and say 'How can you walk on that?"' he said. "And these people are still walking 28 miles a day."

Blisters have been such a problem that they were lanced by a doctor who visited the march Friday.

Mackenzie said marcher Joe Wladyka has suffered the worst, with four and five on each foot. The wounds had to be stitched by the doctor.

"It's really not that bad," said Wladyka, who, at 59, is the oldest marcher. "You are suffering, but you don't mind it. You are too proud to stop."

Wladyka is one of the marchers who has made every step of the trip to Barstow. Several have rested in the union vans for a few miles along the way.

"The first thing I do every night is run to my bed and put my feet up, then I soak them in Epsom salts," said Shirley Brooks, a 32-year-old food server whose feet ballooned from walking.

Bedding in close quarters in two recreational vehicles has been a character-building experience of its own, Brooks stud.

"Before this is over, we are either going to end up killing or loving each other," Brooks said. "We have gotten at each other's throats a few times, but then we realize we are all going through the same thing."

Despite a change in course from Interstate 15 to historic Route 66, the marchers are still due to arrive Thursday in Ontario, Calif.