BY STEVE BLOODWORTH
PEORIA, Illinois - As the United Auto Workers (UAW)
strike against Caterpillar, Inc., enters its 14th month,
officials of the union and top-level Caterpillar executives
met in Chicago August 1 to lay the groundwork for future
negotiations.
At the last negotiations in March, talks broke down over a number of major issues. These include the duration of the agreement; wages, cost-of-living, and lump-sum payments; treatment of new hires and retirees; and the possible closing of the York, Pennsylvania, plant. At the August 1 meeting UAW leaders presented their position on these issues.
Meanwhile, hearings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) began August 8. These revolve around Caterpillar's attempt to implement its "Standards of Conduct," a list of restrictions prohibiting workers from wearing clothing or displaying signs that depict the labor dispute, participating in rallies on Caterpillar property, and using language the company calls offensive, such as the word "scab."
It was the company's attempt to enforce such rules that led to the firing of some 300 workers, known to strikers as the "illegally terminated," and the union filing more than 100 charges of unfair labor practices with the NLRB over the last four years.
With the prospects for negotiations opening up again, the local UAW leadership has suspended the "G.O. rallies." These demonstrations have occurred every Thursday at lunchtime for the past 14 months at the Caterpillar General Offices in downtown Peoria. Between 100 and 400 strikers, family members, and supporters have participated in the weekly protests, which have helped to draw attention to the strike, as well as confronting Caterpillar executives who work at the international corporate headquarters. The rallies often culminate in informational reports by union officials on recent developments in the strike.
Coralee Mrazek, a leader of the strike support group Families in Solidarity, said of the rallies, "I think everyone who participated got a sense of satisfaction that you are doing something."
Stephen Bloodworth is a member of the Graphic Communications International Union in Peoria.