Vol. 80/No. 46 December 12, 2016
Locked-out Ind. UAW members reject
Honeywell demands
Honeywell locked the workers out May 9 after they voted down a contract that would drastically increase health care costs, tear up work schedules and ignore job classifications. The company also locked out 41 UAW Local 1508 members at its Green Island, New York, brake pad plant.
“The company’s new proposal was basically the same offer,” Todd Treder, Local 9 vice president and a pipefitter in the plant, told the Militant. “All they changed is to put a 15 percent cap on yearly increases in health care costs. But they’re still demanding we accept insurance with a huge deductible and weekly payments of $114 for a family.”
“Honeywell offered us a union-busting contract, and said, ‘If you don’t like it, we’ll lock you out until you like it!’” said Bob Beduhn, a carbon fabricator. “But this lockout is being watched all over the country. Unions are afraid if Honeywell succeeds they’ll be next. And companies think if Honeywell wins here they can do the same thing.”
Pickets say health care is not the only problem. “With their contract language we might as well not even have a union,” said fabricator Brian Huge, 34. “Without seniority in layoffs, overtime and shift preference, all you have is discrimination and playing favorites.”
Treder said the local union bargaining committee brought the company’s new offer to the membership “because unemployment benefits expire in November and the members should have the right to decide what happens.”
Although some unionists have gotten other jobs, 266 of 317 members turned out to vote, rejecting Honeywell’s proposal by 70 percent. Local 1508 members in New York voted 30 to 6 in favor of the new offer.
“We are disappointed UAW members rejected our contract proposal,” Honeywell spokesman Scott Sayres said in a Nov. 12 statement. “We listened to the union and made substantial moves on healthcare.”
UAW members here saw it differently. “The company was hoping we’d cave in after being locked out for six months,” Tredor said. “But we’ve come too far to back down now.”
Related articles:
Nationwide actions demand $15 and a union
On the Picket Line
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