Re: Contract Talks? -- The Solidarity Message Board

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Date Posted: 18:34:06 10/12/03 Sun
Author: Barb Julien
Subject: Re: Contract Talks?
In reply to: Who Cares? 's message, "Re: Contract Talks?" on 18:32:05 10/12/03 Sun

posted 9/16/03 9:11 AM

To who cares: I didn't leave Indiana because I wanted to. I left because I married a Michigan man, and if he had transfered there his seniority with CSX would have gone to zero and he would have been back on the road. I couldn't do that to him, so I took the hit. I went to Alpine first but it was sold to Lear. Then I came here.
I think you misunderstood my intent. I wasn't degrading Coopersville or you personally, and you are stuck with me till I retire. If you have never worked in another plant, you haven't had the opportunity to realize the extreme differences in local contracts. The Kokomo plant where I worked is a Delphi plant also. Alpine was a Delphi plant, and we know what has happened to them.
I do have some negotiating experience, but don't know if I could make a difference either. The main thing that bothers me about Coopersville is the lack of unity among union members. There is a lot of back-stabbing and brown-nosing. I have been told more than once that a lot of people didn't want us Alpiners here. The national agreement gave us that right, just as you have the right to transfer to any plant you want. I sure hope that if you do go somewhere else that you are treated better than I have been on occasion. There were several hundred people who transferred to the Kokomo plant who had lost their jobs for various reasons or just wanted to transfer, including one from Coopersville. Some people treated them badly, but I welcomed them because they were union brothers and sisters. We are all members of the same International Union and should have a feeling of brotherhood in our local unions. We should have respect for seniority and lines of demarcation and mostly for each other. We are all in this together. As Shotwell keeps preaching, we need solidarity.
About Shotwell, maybe he is a pot stirer. But, he spends untold hours working for the betterment of our union both locally and internationally. He cares deeply about the job climate the next generation will inherit, which is miserable at best. If you have never been on strike, or been on lay-off for 2 years, or felt the sting of discrimination, or been bumped from shift to shift when you were low seniority, then you may not understand how important it is to stay solid. You may not realize how much ground and how many members our union has lost since the 80's. I'm sure Walter Reuther has rolled over several times.
We are living in a time of fear and war and job loss and death and uncertainty and government corruption. We must do all we can to help turn the tide from corporate greed to human needs. We must work to leave our children decent jobs. None of us can do it alone, but all of us can make a difference if we stick together. Vote no till you know!

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Re: Contract Talks? -- Sgt., 18:35:33 10/12/03 Sun