BY MARY MARTIN

ST. LOUIS - "What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Jobs! When do we want them? Now!" These were the shouts of six busloads of striking machinists and their families in front of the world headquarters building of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in Hazlewood, Missouri. The lead bus was draped with a banner that read, "I'd rather be the son of a Machinist than the son of a CEO." The protest was organized as part of a Fathers Day picnic and rally, held at the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 837 union hall and strike headquarters. The rally received wide media coverage in the St. Louis area.

The walkout, which began on June 5 against McDonnell Douglas by members of IAM District 837, entered its second week with no new negotiations set. The machinists union is demanding guarantees that the work done at McDonnell will not be outsourced to non-union companies or other McDonnell Douglas facilities, and that 7,000 jobs will stay in the plant.

The company is pressing for job combinations and outsourcing to cut its costs and to increase its rate of profit. The job elimination would reduce the workforce from 6,500 to 5,000 by the end of the proposed contract. Strikers are also demanding a wage increase, which they have not received in seven years, and improvements in benefits and pensions.

Since the first day of the strike, McDonnell Douglas spokesperson Tom Williams has claimed that 1,500 engineers are now doing the production work once done by the striking machinists. The number has now reportedly climbed to between 2,500 and 3,000. There are over 15,000 non-union employees currently working in the plant, who the company refers to as FEP's - Free Enterprise Personnel. They consist of engineers, foremen, secretaries, and other office personnel.

McDonnell to hire replacements
McDonnell spokesman Tom Williams told reporters, "To stay to schedule...we will hire temporary replacement employees for our operations in St. Louis." When pressed for more details Williams responded, "I don't want to get into specifics as to who they are, for security reasons...we are looking for very qualified people with skills like those of the machinists." Williams announced that some of the replacement workers will come from McDonnell's non-union plant in Mesa, Arizona, where the Apache Helicopter is assembled. He also said McDonnell will temporarily transfer some work done currently done in St. Louis to its other plants and to other companies.

A June 14 Wall Street Journal article headlined "McDonnell Takes Caterpillar Strike Path" said the move to hire replacements "closely parallels actions taken by Caterpillar Inc. in that company's successful showdown last year against the United Auto Workers union."

McDonnell is also pressing its bid to buy the space and military divisions of Rockwell International Corp., although final negotiations were delayed due to the strike. A Washington Post article noted that the transaction would create a company with combined sales last year of $17.7 billion. This would put McDonnell on a stronger footing to compete with the aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp., which just acquired the military business of Loral Corp. two months ago.

One striking worker told the Militant, "They can replace us, and will replace us, but McDonnell will have to decide at what cost."

On the day of the announcement the union held a press conference at strike headquarters denouncing the attempt to break the strike and vowing to bring more pressure to bear on the company. Doris Shirley has worked at McDonnell for 21 years. She said, "If they bring in replacement workers there's going to be hell to pay. Who are they trying to kid? A replacement worker is a replacement worker. There's nothing temporary about it."

Other workers continue to show their solidarity with the strike, stopping by the picket line or honking in support as they pass by. A letter of support arrived at strike headquarters from Bill Johnson, District President of IAM District Lodge 751, which organizes the workers at Boeing. Operating Engineers Local 148 in St. Louis also sent a message.

Marcellow Malentacchi, president of the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) from Geneva, Switzerland, sent a letter expressing solidarity with the strikers at McDonnell. The IMF includes all the unions at Airbus Industries, a major competitor of McDonnell Douglas. Earlier the Swiss government had complained that the IAM strikers were "greedy."

On June 14, the St. Louis Board of Alderman passed a resolution in support of the strike.

At a June 15 local union meeting held at strike headquarters a worker from Boeing in Seattle was introduced to the couple hundred in attendance. Scott Breen is a member of the machinists union who came to St. Louis to show his solidarity for the strike. He explained, "As a worker from Boeing I want you to know that we are not your mortal enemy, as Herbert Lanese [president of McDonnell Douglas] would like you to think. We are your brothers and sisters!" The union hall broke into applause. Breen was referring to comments attributed to Lanese at a contract negotiations session before the strike, where he reportedly said, "You in the IAM think of the people in Boeing in Seattle and the people at Lockheed Martin as your brothers and sisters. You have to look at them like I do, as your mortal enemy."

Strike support activities are under way with a statewide rally called for Saturday June 22 at the Horse Palace of Missouri in St. Charles. The event is billed as a Herb and Harry Pig Roast, after Lanese and McDonnell CEO Harold Stonecipher. The rally is sponsored by the Missouri AFL-CIO, St. Louis Central Labor Council, and the IAM District 837.

Mary Martin is a member of IAM Local 1759 at Northwest Airlines in Washington, D.C. Danny Booher is a member of IAM Local 1918 at USAir in New York. Jim Garrison, a member of United Auto Workers Local 110 at Chrysler in Fenton, Missouri, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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