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The Barking Dog
This is issue #63 of The Barking Dog, put out by Caroline Lund, member of
UAW Local 2244 at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA. It is dated February 22,
2005.
Breaking Point
On Jan. 27 Myles Meyers, an autoworker from Ohio, entered the Toledo
North Jeep plant where he worked, shot and killed a supervisor, wounded two
other employees and then shot himself to death. The CEO of DaimlerChrysler
(which owns Jeep) called it "an isolated incident."
But on the internet, Jeep workers are circulating an article from the
Feb. 17 Toledo City Paper, which tells the real story. Quotes below are from
the article, "Productivity At Any Cost?" by Michael Brooks.
"Jeep workers say that Meyers' outburst was not isolated and was the
culmination of systematic harassment by management that took place
throughout many months."
"They [management] have been obsessed with firing Myles for months," said
a worker who would not give his real name out of fear of retaliation. "This
is a part of their campaign to eliminate the higher-paid, older workers
especially activists who want a stronger union and to replace them with
younger, cheaper new hires."
"The unfavorable portrait of Meyers depicted in the mainstream media as a
substance-abusing, unstable maniac is difficult to balance against the
images presented by some of the people who knew him best: employees of
Jeep¹s Toledo North second-shift body shop."
Coworkers called him "a really cool guy," and a "friendly guy" who
"seemed to get along with everyone." One coworker said, "The guy was
incredible he had skills in welding, brazing, repair work, sheet metal
finishing you name it. He was a go-to guy. He would always bail out the
company when they were in a fix."
In moving to the Toledo North plant from an older facility,
DaimlerChrysler eliminated 1,400 production jobs. At the new plant, "you
can't even take a water bottle to your work station," said a millwright.
"Food, drinks, and personal items are now forbidden at work stations."
"At the old plant, guys would have on headphones, or keep a radio nearby
to make things more tolerable," said a worker. "Sometimes you would see
people singing or smiling while they worked. Now, there's nothing but
factory noise for 10 or 12 hours."
Another issue is the company¹s use of temporary part-time workers (TPTs),
who work three days a week and get few benefits. A worker told the reporter:
"These workers get the possibility of full-time employment dangled in front
of them, and they are pressured into working like maniacs. Plus, if an older
worker goes on sick leave, his job is covered by TPTs. When the worker gets
back, he's expected to perform at the level of two gung-ho part-timers who
each have four days to rest up from their overexertions."
DaimlerChrysler's buzzwords are "lean production" and "continuous
improvement." NUMMI workers: does this sound familiar???
But workers say "a better term would be management by stress. Plant
managers keep pushing the limits on people and machines to get just a few
more cars per hour."
"Many employees say that the extra work and increased stress have taken
their toll in hidden ways: illnesses, marital discord and suicides." A
worker concluded, "The real tragedy with Myles is that most people believed
that this type of incident was inevitable. It was just a matter of who would
be the first to crack."
Management harassment led to his cracking. One worker testified: "For the
last two months, Myles had at least one manager watching him the entire
shift. A female supervisor would even follow him to the bathroom at break
and sniff his clothes to see if he had been smoking in the bathroom."
The Jeep plant is union, but, says the article, "One of the most common
worker complaints...is that the UAW no longer adequately serves its Local 12
members."
A production worker stated: "When I was written up for shutting down the
line, including the union steward [in the disciplinary meeting] was like
having another company person in the room."
Workers are also upset by the 8-year contract ratified in December 2003.
"We've supposedly had a contract for a year, but no one¹s ever seen it,"
said a production worker. "They made us vote on something sight unseen."
Workers also cited the case of Calvin Buckmaster, a union member who had
raised questions about union finances. In retaliation, an unknown attacker
threw a brick through his home window, with five bullets and the letters UAW
taped to it.
One worker summed up: "The only people who can make Jeep free, to prevent
the tragedy of Myles Meyers from ever happening again, to make the union
work for them and to reverse the dehumanizing effect of lean production, are
the rank-and-file workers themselves. Neither the media, government, union,
management or anyone outside of Jeep employees are going to do it."
Source:
www.toledocitypaper.com--/cover2.html
Message to The Barking Dog
I am a 56-year-old factory worker employed by Kenworth Truck Co. here in
Chillicothe, Ohio. This plant has been non-union for 30 years and I see no
change on the horizon. I am not sure, with all the concessions the unions
conform to, that a union would improve the present state of things.
I am pro-union all the way. If not for unions, we would all be working
for minimum wage! I agree with you that it is going to take a grass-roots
movement to bring union strength back.
If it were possible to rally all the blue collar workers for just one day
to call in sick, or better yet, just show up and all refuse to work till we
are heard. That is the key and what a union stands for: STICK TOGETHER AND
NOT TO WAVER.
Working men and women will have to take a stand soon or face working for
whatever their employers want to pay them and the word benefits will no
longer exist unless you are a CEO.
n Don Cruse
Unions and the Democrats
Following are excerpts from an article by Jonathan Tasini, president
emeritus of the National Writers Union, a UAW affiliate. It appeared in the
Feb. 20 issue of the L.A. Times.
"Over the last 20 years, the labor movement has poured billions of our
members' hard-earned dollars into electoral politics and we've gotten very
little to show for it except a weaker labor movement, too many election day
whuppings and too many politicians who, when they do win, promptly turn
their backs on working men and women. It¹s time we turned off the spigot and
put the money to better use. . . .
Don't get me wrong. I admire the fire and dedication of the labor people
who pour their souls into campaigns. But we've been acting on the belief
that the political arena could make up for our declining numbers and
weakness in the workplace. Our money and troops have squeezed out a few
victories for Democrats. But we've remained passengers, not drivers of the
political vehicle. Politicians ignore us because we can't turn out enough
voters to end their careers. We couldn¹t even muster a meaningful spanking
for those NAFTA-backing Democrats.
"So my proposal is simple: During the coming two-year election cycle,
labor should not write a single check to a federal candidate or a political
party. Let¹s take the money and, more important, our focus and energy
and pour it into organizing new workers, kicking the stuffing out of the
Wal-Mart family, pushing a national campaign for healthcare for all and
advancing the labor-environment-sponsored Apollo Alliance, a brilliant idea
to pour billions of dollars into good-paying jobs through new
sustainable-energy projects. . . ."
Caterpillar Contract
In January UAW members at Caterpillar ratified a six-year contract that
drastically lowered pay and benefits for new hires, and will have retirees
and regular employees paying health insurance copays for the first time.
Here are comments by two UAW veterans.
Retirees Pay
These are excerpts from an article by Dave Yettaw printed in the Flint
(Michigan) Journal on January 23, 2005. Dave is the former President of UAW
Local 599 at the "Buick City" facility in Flint.
"Look at the new Caterpillar agreement the UAW settled after a record
billion-dollar profit in each of the past four years.
"There is a signing bonus of $3,000 for active members, pay increases for
active members and future retirees, and incentives for retirement. But it is
all taken away in wage cuts, giving $10 an hour for new hires and health
care co-insurance payments of up to 20 percent for all members and those who
retired after 1998.
"As the UAW leadership retreats from corporation to corporation, in the
round robin of bargaining master contracts, we spiral downward because the
newest concession is sought by the next corporation whose contract talks are
coming....
"I might believe the top UAW leaders were doing their best at Caterpillar
if their wages, benefits and pensions reflected the majority of UAW members.
But UAW leaders are in the top tier.
"Top UAW leaders at the regional and national level . . .grant themselves
a 100 percent reimbursement of health care expenses, a matching 401(k), a
matching severance package drawn over 15-20 years, and $165 per month per
year of service with no carve-out when they reach Social Security age.
Plus their GM pension, etc. Someone with 15 to 20 years on the International
staff, who maxed out matching UAW contributions with your dues dollar to the
plans, will retire from the International union staff at $8,000 a month or
more."
Two-Tier
The following are comments by Gregg Shotwell, a Delphi worker in Michigan
who puts out the plant newsletter Live Bait & Ammo. Gregg has filed an
appeal against the two-tier system for parts workers negotiated by the UAW
in the latest Big Three contract.
"Cat is smart. They have set the retirees and older active members
against the new hires, or supplementals as they call them. It's the same at
Delphi, Visteon, American Axle, and other parts suppliers. It is coming to
the Big Three.
"Second tier wage earners will be the pall bearers at the union¹s
funeral, and they won't be in mourning. They will bury the corpse of
solidarity with a gleeful vengence.
Protecting temps, supple-mentals, second tier workers, and non-union
workers should be a top priority. If we sacrifice fellow workers in exchange
for our own security, we are no different than the capitalists who exploit
labor for personal gain."
© Copyright 2005 The Usual Suspect.
Last update: 5/25/2005; 5:09:46 PM.
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