“They keep sending us home,” he said, “either all week or for a few hours.” He felt it was wrong that a full-time worker in one part of the plant could be sent home early while “enhanced temporary workers” who are paid less are kept on for a full shift in the body shop.
What angered him most, however, was that the secretary in the union office had told him he was ineligible for unemployment benefits. “You gotta be out for two weeks. That’s why they get rid of us for a week and then bring us back in,” he said.
Tom Daniels, 38, another displaced full-timer, pulled up alongside the union hall. After getting off his Harley, he complained, “The companies are a lot better off than they let on. Ford is supposed to be in such bad shape but they are spending over a billion on a new plant in Eastern Europe and they want more from us. We have given plenty. Enough is enough.”
Daniels called the “two class” wage system “un-American.”
“They do the same work. They should get the same pay,” he said.
Daniels also asked, “How long before Chrysler says it wants the lower scale for all of us? They’ll say we all should work for $18.”
William Pruitt, vice president of Local 1268, which represents the Belvidere workers, said his local wants “temporary enhanced workers” to become permanent when the new contract is signed. “At our plant they are no less important than anyone else,” he said.
At Take 20, a bar-restaurant near the plant, the barmaid said she worries about her customers “because it’s not good to see all the things you work for your whole life start to disappear. And, with lower paid people, I make less tips.”
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger began talks with GM and Ford July 23 by assailing the growing rich-poor divide. “It’s not just about us,” he said. “These negotiations are about everybody. We’re bargaining for our country as a whole.”
jwojcik @ pww.org. John Wojcik is labor editor of People's Weekly World newspaper, www.pww.org.
What angered him most, however, was that the secretary in the union office had told him he was ineligible for unemployment benefits. “You gotta be out for two weeks. That’s why they get rid of us for a week and then bring us back in,” he said.
Tom Daniels, 38, another displaced full-timer, pulled up alongside the union hall. After getting off his Harley, he complained, “The companies are a lot better off than they let on. Ford is supposed to be in such bad shape but they are spending over a billion on a new plant in Eastern Europe and they want more from us. We have given plenty. Enough is enough.”
Daniels called the “two class” wage system “un-American.”
Daniels also asked, “How long before Chrysler says it wants the lower scale for all of us? They’ll say we all should work for $18.”
William Pruitt, vice president of Local 1268, which represents the Belvidere workers, said his local wants “temporary enhanced workers” to become permanent when the new contract is signed. “At our plant they are no less important than anyone else,” he said.
At Take 20, a bar-restaurant near the plant, the barmaid said she worries about her customers “because it’s not good to see all the things you work for your whole life start to disappear. And, with lower paid people, I make less tips.”
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger began talks with GM and Ford July 23 by assailing the growing rich-poor divide. “It’s not just about us,” he said. “These negotiations are about everybody. We’re bargaining for our country as a whole.”
jwojcik @ pww.org. John Wojcik is labor editor of People's Weekly World newspaper, www.pww.org.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
