Stakes are high in Hormel strike

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8 ¡OCIALIST ACTION SEPTEMBER 1985 year's level. In 1984, Hormel had already reported the second highest earnings in its 93-year history. Business Week recently called the company the "envy of the industry because of its consistent profitability."

Hormel wanted to do more than lower wages paid to P-9 members, however. Their "final" offer would have robbed the union of crucial rights to audit work schedules for contract applicability and correctness. That and other provisions would have weakened the local's say over day-to-day conditions, with the eventual goal of wiping out the union altogether.

Union leaders point to the high injury rate at the plant, a heavily automated facility built in 1982, and proposed contract provisions, which would have allowed management to place workers on jobs regardless of seniority, as other major reasons for rejecting Hormel's demands.

Local P-9 has been campaigning for Wheeling (continued from page 1: “Wheeling-Pitt strikers stand firm against steel bosses, courts”)

ening not to make future payments. Corporate spokespeople claim an extended strike will force the company to permanently close the mills.

Workers reject attacks

The workers have not given in to this pressure. Despite its early threats, the company has not attempted to start up any of the struck steel mills. Mass picket lines successfully stopped company attempts to move steel in Martins Ferry, Ohio, and Follansbee, W. Va.

As one steelworker explained to a District 28 support rally, "We're doing this for ourselves and our fathers who gave us this union and our children who we're going to pass this union on to."

Steelworkers say they're not really on strike-they've been locked out by the company. They're ready, willing, and able to return to work immediately under the terms of the agreement that was in effect prior to Bentz's ruling.

However, the conditions imposed in the company's "Modified Wage and Benefits Program" are tantamount to slave labor, with the union totally broken. No guarantees of seniority protecn'capte.

gift (4IDOFF Kende tion, grievance procedure, or working conditions remain.

Wages, which were already considerably less than at other basic steel mills, were further slashed. While the lowest paid worker would suffer a $3-per-hour direct pay cut, most workers would suffer a $4-per-hour wage cut, and some better paid workers would lose $55 a day.

Vacation time and holidays would be reduced. The health insurance plan would be gutted with workers being forced to pay large deductibles and coinsurance penalties in the name of cost efficiency.

AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO GET • GOLD WATCH, 10 months to win support from the public in anticipation of an unavoidable strike. Hormel has consistently responded with threats to move their corporate offices out of Austin because of its "poor labor climate."

Media smears, chain link fences Since early last winter, when P-9 launched its "corporate campaign" to expose the mighty financial interests represented on Hormel's board of directors, the news media has often tried to imply that the P-9 leaders are wild-eyed hotheads who lack the support of the membership.

The media has focused on the open split between P-9 and the UFCW InterA trial run The union was negotiating a possible new concessions package before Wheeling-Pittsburgh filed for protection under the federal bankruptcy laws. USWA attorneys are appealing Judge Bentz's ruling, arguing that the company failed to meet the necessary legal criterion to cancel its agreement with the union.

Since these conditions constitute a lockout, workers have applied for unemployment compensation. The company has gone back to Judge Bentz, requesting that he order the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio national which has resisted P-9's bold moves since the local pulled out of the national bargaining framework for the Hormel chain last year. But the overwhelming vote of confidence for the local's course of action shown by the contract-rejection vote has forced the media to backtrack on some of their earlier attempts to undermine P-9's campaign.

Hormel Vice President Charles Nyberg responded to the strike vote with the threat that "the company definitely is not caving in."

Company officials have been quoted as saying that Hormel will consider hiring temporary or permanent replace not to pay unemployment benefits.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh workers prepared a leaflet explaining the issues of the walkout, including what the real wage offer is, to answer the company's lies and to help show other workers the importance of their struggle. They've leafleted grocery stores, churches, and community meetings, winning growing support.

Local merchants have donated food to the strike headquarters. Many small businesses are offering discounts to Wheeling-Pittsburgh workers. Other area trade unions have pledged their full support. Even local politicians have felt pressured to voice support for the strikers.

Most basic steelworkers recognize that Wheeling-Pittsburgh is a trial run for next year's basic steel negotiations. At joint union-industry meetings, all the steel companies have indicated their plans to demand further concessions.

As LTV Steel Corporation continues to post large quarterly losses, rumors persist that it will also file bankruptcy. U.S. Steel Corporation, which doesn't even claim to be losing money, has stated its intention to force through the same wages and working conditions Wheeling-Pittsburgh workers have.

Solidarity grows

Busloads of steelworkers from other areas have joined Wheeling-Pittsburgh workers on their picket lines to express their support for the strike.

On July 31, District 28 sponsored a mașs solidarity rally at the Steelworkers Hall in Cleveland. Marty Hughes, president of the Cleveland AFL-CIO and an international vice president of the Communication Workers of America, pledged the full support of the Cleveland Federation of Labor.

In explaining the importance of this fight, UAW Region 2 Director Warren Davis said, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was only the right of the elite in this country. Working people never had these rights until we orgawho have traveled statewide and to neighboring Iowa and Illinois speaking to farmers' meetings, to other UFCW locals, to meetings of railworkers, steelworkers, autoworkers, explaining their cause and soliciting support.

Plans are underway to use the first two weeks of the strike to reach thousands of Minnesotans at shopping centers and through door-to-door canvassing with the facts of P-9's cause. The local and the United Support Committee are organizing hundreds of strikers and spouses to carry out this aspect of P-9's fight to begin to turn the tide against concessions among organized Local P-9 members understand exactly the stakes involved in this fight both for themselves as individuals and for every union worker in this country. P-9's fight is interrupting the seemingly endless stream of concession agreements since the Chrysler concession contract in 1980.

nized the trade unions. No politicians ever gave us anything. We forced politicians to pass laws respecting workers' rights. No one gave it to us."

Davis ended his remarks by addressing the Wheeling-Pittsburgh strikers in the crowd, "You're fighting the fight for all organized labor. You're sending a message to corporate America that we're madder than hell and that we aren't going to take it anymore. You're giving spirit and heart to the rest of the American trade union movement and we all owe you a debt of gratitude for that."

District 28 director Frank Valenta explained that this rally and a similar rally at the USWA Local 1375 Hall in Warren the next day were launching a district campaign to Save Our Steelworkers.

Support must be expanded Every working steelworker in District 28 is being asked to donate $1 per day to the Wheeling-Pittsburgh workers for the duration of the strike. In addition to these donations, local unions have contributed money, and successful plant gate collections have been held.

Two hundred local union officers rom District 28 and District 30 (Cincin nati) who were attending an educational seminar at Linden Hall in Dawson, Pa., went to one of the Wheeling-Pittsburgh picket lines. As they got off the buses, singing "Solidarity Forever, they presented the money they'd collected. These 200 local officers donated over $1500.

The Wheeling-Pittsburgh strikers have expressed their determination to stay out "until hell freezes over if necessary."

They're unanimous in their opinion that they won't allow the steel barons' union-busting attempts to succeed.

The initial support from other steelworkers must be expanded. Such solidarity is essential to force WheelingPittsburgh to retreat and to help turn around the bosses' offensive against the wages and working conditions of the U.S. workers.

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SociAlist Action FoRuM This month's issue of FORUM is devoted to a discussion on the ruling-class attacks on the unions and the perspectives for labor's fight against concessions.

We have invited leaders in the trade-union movement to express their views on this important topic. Our goal in this FORUM section is to promote a wide-ranging discussion on all subjects of interest to those active in the labor, antiwar, Black, In this issue of FORUM we are presenting the views of four participants at the planning meeting of the National Rank and File Against Concessions, which took place Aug. 10 in Gary, Ind. [See story on page 10.J They are the following:

1) John Tirpak, vice president of United Steelworkers of America Local 1223 in Yorkville, Ohio; (2) Tom Laney, president of United Auto Workers Local 879 in St.

Paul, Minn.; (3) Ed Ott, vice president of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union Local 8-149 in New York; and (4) Darrell Becker, president of Shipbuilders CONCESSIONS