http://themilitant.com/2017/8111/811132.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 81/No. 11 March 20, 2017
—ON THE PICKET LINE—
Maggie Trowe, Editor
Militant/Jacob Perasso
Unionists who recently struck Momentive Performance Materials for 105
days in Waterford, New York, attend fundraiser March 5 to support 26
workers company fired during strike.
Honeywell workers approve new contract ending 10-month lockout
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — After nearly 10 months on the picket line at
Honeywell Aerospace, workers here and in Green Island, New York, will be
returning to work in late March. Members of United Auto Workers locals 9
and 1508 voted 186-106 to approve a new five-year contract Feb. 25.
Honeywell had locked out 317 workers at its wheel and brake plant in
South Bend and 40 others in Green Island.
The South Bend workers organized three solidarity rallies and maintained
24-hour pickets at the plant for the duration of the lockout.
“We were never alone,” said UAW Local 9 Recording Secretary Bryan
Rogers. “We had tremendous support from the community and other unions.”
“The biggest thing for us was union rights and seniority,” said Local 9
Vice President Todd Treder. “They wanted to be able to arbitrarily move
workers from shift to shift and assign jobs and lay us off without
regard to seniority, but we stopped that.”
The new contract includes increases in what workers must pay for health
care. It sets the annual deductible at $3,000, instead of $8,000 that
the company originally demanded. It also eliminates retirement pensions
for new hires and freezes pension benefits for those currently working,
replacing defined pension benefits with a 401(k) plan.
The agreement includes three 2 percent wage increases over 5 years for
all but the highest paid workers in the plant, according to workers
interviewed.
Honeywell brought in scabs from Strom Engineering to maintain some level
of production during the lockout. “When the company brought them in
before the vote, it actually united the local,” Treder said. “Everyone
could see what the company was up to.”
“Some people say the unions are going away, but I don’t think so,” said
Theo Davis, a fabricator with two years in the plant. Davis explained he
voted against the first two company offers, but in favor of the new
contract. “I was with this fight all along. Now we’re just better
prepared, we know what to expect.”
— Betsy Farley
Workers at NY Momentive plant rally for fired unionists
WATERFORD, N.Y. — About 200 workers who recently returned to work after
105 days on strike against Momentive Performance Materials, and their
families and supporters, enjoyed a spirited fundraiser at Chrome Food
and Spirits here March 5 to benefit 26 workers who were fired during the
strike.
“We’ll do everything we can to get them back to work,” said Dominick
Patrignani, president of International Union of Electrical
Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 81359, at the event.
“One worker was terminated for supposedly stealing a company radio but
he has the receipts to prove he purchased it. We are for using a
criteria of innocent until proven guilty,” noting that the company would
not agree to that.
A spokesperson for Momentive said they are following the contract
agreement in “full cooperation with the IUE-CWA and the governor’s
office,” and said they would “not comment on open employee matters.”
The workers were fired for supposed sabotage of the plant on the eve of
the strike and for alleged “misconduct” on the picket line. According to
Patrignani, no convincing evidence has been presented to the union that
would justify the terminations. “The company presented bogus evidence
for the sabotage, such as missing labels.”
Momentive used the fired workers as a bargaining chip to pressure the
union to sign a contract. Workers told the Militant that Momentive
threatened to never let the 26 back, and lay off another 150 workers if
they didn’t vote for the contract. The agreement was approved in
mid-February.
Union workers distributed T-shirts to their fellow fighters that read
“Stood the line for 105,” on the front and “Now we stand for 26,” on the
back.
A “50-50” raffle was held to benefit the fired workers. Rich Gaughan, a
worker at the plant, won $853 and immediately donated it to those who
were fired. “It is extremely important that we win their jobs back,” he
told the Militant. “In my opinion we never should have returned to work
without them.”
“Outside the plant we became more unified,” said plant worker Michael
Harrington. “The strike was our stand. Someone has to take a stand.”
Donations can be sent to Save The 26 IUE-CWA 81359, P.O. Box 339,
Waterford, NY 12188.
— Jacob Perasso
Related articles:
Wash. farmworkers join union, protest conditions
Pension funds for nearly 1 million workers are on verge of collapse
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