BY ANGEL LARISCY
PEORIA, Illinois - "We're fighting for our rights, and sometimes fighting for your rights doesn't correspond to the laws," said Ron Heller, a member of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 974 on strike against Caterpillar Inc.
Heller was reacting to a ruling by Circuit Court Judge Donald Courson finding the union in criminal contempt of a 1992 injunction limiting pickets to 10 per gate. Courson ruled that in 28 cases the union had too many people on the picket line, prevented access to the company's facilities, or both.
UAW lawyer Stanley Eisenstein acknowledged some violations of the injunction, but only three since a November 1994 ruling that the original injunction was still in effect. These incidents occurred on the one-year anniversary of the strike, Eisenstein said, and none were officially sponsored by the union.
Caterpillar claimed the rallies held by strikers and their supporters were "riots." The company is seeking damages for alleged destruction of property and attorney's fees. The second phase of the trial, which will decide if fines and damages will be imposed on the union, will begin December 18. In his ruling, Judge Courson also reaffirmed that the 1992 injunction applies to Caterpillar's main offices in downtown Peoria.
Since June 1994, more than 9,500 workers, most of who are in the Peoria area, have been on strike against Caterpillar. Unionists have been without a contract for over four years since the company demanded massive concessions from the UAW and put forward its "final offer."
Strikers have participated in numerous one-day actions and rallies over the past few years. "I never felt like I was breaking the law when I was on the picket line," said Russell Miller, a striker who worked at the company's East Peoria facility. "I was stating an opinion."
UAW member Heller said that in Peoria, "The laws protect Cat and big business. They use their money to make the laws and control the people."
Recently, police in the Peoria suburb of Creve Coeur arrested the first person under a new Illinois law that makes it illegal to possess jack rocks. Jack rocks are nails welded together in a tripod and can be used to puncture tires.
UAW Local 974 member Ronald Dobbins was arrested and booked for the misdemeanor charge after police, acting on an anonymous tip, searched his home and found 19 jack rocks in a cardboard box in his garage. If found guilty, Dobbins faces a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail.
Is a union contract near?
Rumors continue to abound in the local press about an
end to the strike being near. Meetings between union
officials and the company continue to take place, but no
information is available on the status of a contract or a
return to work date.
Meanwhile strikers, their families, and supporters continue to make their presence known. Signs bearing the slogans "Proud UAW Family," "We support the UAW," and "Scabs have no honor" are visible in neighborhoods throughout the city and surrounding communities.
At a recent two-day meeting with financial analysts in Arizona, Caterpillar contended it is now in a position to stay "reasonably profitable" in future recessions. But despite Caterpillar's continuing assertion that everything is fine, the company continues to face problems.
On November 8, a temporary worker at Caterpillar's Mapleton foundry was killed when a five-ton pulley fell on him after a safety mechanism failed.
Striker Miller pointed out that the company is either not training people in the proper safety procedures or is disregarding them in the efforts to get out production. "One of the first things you are always taught," he said, "is not to stand under a load."
Five days later a man fell 25 feet from a catwalk at Caterpillar's LL building in East Peoria, suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
After six quarters of record profits, Caterpillar earnings were down the third quarter of this year. The company also announced production cutbacks would be made at a number of its facilities.
A Value Line report noted the quandary the company is in. "We advise investors to look past the headlines where suddenly volatile Cat shares are concerned," it said.
Pointing to the speculation the strike might soon be over, the report continued, "The bitterness of the struggle virtually guarantees that almost any future mixture of strikers and non-strikers will constitute an angry and divided workplace. Thus, even if the rumors are true, this does not necessarily represent an improvement upon the current situation, and matters could worsen if the former strikers come back in a less-than-cooperative frame of mind."
Angel Lariscy is a member of UAW Local 1494 in Peoria.