BY RAY PARSONS
DES MOINES, Iowa - Strikers at Titan Tire are preparing
for a solidarity rally May 1 that will mark the one-year
anniversary of their fight. The 670 unionists, members of
United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 164, walked out
May 1, 1998, against forced overtime, two-tier wages, and for
medical and pension benefits for retired workers. In
September 1998, members of USWA Local 303L in Natchez,
Mississippi, joined the strike against Titan Tire when the
company refused to negotiate with the union following its
purchase of the plant there.
The May 1 action will feature a rally at noon at the Local 164 union hall, 2727 East Market Street in Des Moines. There will be a march to the Titan Tire plant several blocks away, followed by a picnic back at union headquarters. USWA and AFL- CIO officials are scheduled to speak, along with a number of state and local politicians.
Local 164 president John Peno said that a busload of Local 303L strikers will make the trip from Natchez for the rally. Faxes building the rally have gone out to a large number of union locals around the country. USWA members from the Bridgestone/Firestone tire plant in Bloomington, Illinois, are planning to attend. Steelworkers locals in Minnesota are organizing a bus, sponsored by USWA District Council 11, which will stop in Mason City, Iowa, to pick up USWA members there. Workers at Bridgestone/Firestone in Des Moines, members of USWA Local 310, are planning a gate collection to help build local participation in the May 1 event.
In other developments, on April 1 the Iowa unemployment commission rejected Titan's appeal of unemployment compensation that the Des Moines strikers had won last fall. Contract talks are set to resume in St. Louis.
On at least four occasions, most recently on April 16, Titan management refused to allow Iowa State safety inspectors to tour the Des Moines facility, objecting to the presence of Local 164 representatives. Several hundred replacement workers are producing tires inside the struck plant. The union filed safety complaints after Des Moines rescue units responded to repeated emergency calls. According to the April 17 Des Moines Register, the inspectors had warrants or court orders giving authorization for the inspections. For more information on the May 1 rally call USWA Local 164 at (515) 262-4935.
Ray Parsons is a member of USWA Local 310.