GE, Westinghouse workers discuss negotiations strategy

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Machinists & Electrical workers will present united front to bosses. and the involvement of the membershipnationwide—in the attempt to pressure the employers to provide a decent contract, one that increases our standard of living. The local leaders from different parts of the country embarked on a course of action that led to the formation of this historic unity movement, which is still growing.

New policy required With the building of solidarity and the mobilization of the members came the recognition that the policy of viewing the union and the corporations as "partners" had to be scrapped if any progress was to be made at all.

The degree to which the companies were successful in propagating the myth of a

LOCAL

"partnership" between the workers and themselves facilitated lowering our living standard and dividing and demoralizing our respective memberships.

It was further recognized that in order to restore our memberships confidence in their unions and make solidarity real, not a hollow slogan, an alternative policy was needed—one that takes the interests of the members as the union's only concern plus the mobilization of the members as our most effective weapon in our defense.

After all, the employers have no illusion that we are in a partnership. Their only concern is higher profits at our expense.

It was correctly understood that once the leadership refused to subordinate the members interests to those of the employer, we SOCIALIST advance and make the gains our members need and deserve. More organizing is needed to involve all of the unions from bottom to top in our common struggle. We have a way to go yet but we are on the right track...

We think that what really brought Brother Bywater out was the fact that we have begun organizing with some effect. This put pressure on the CBC leaders to respond to our repeated invitations. But let's not forget it will take a whole lot more organizing before we are all together. We can not stop here! We can be sure the employers will not stop in their efforts to reduce our living standard and maximize profits...

More needs to be done What we need to do from now on is educate and explain to our members that our time is coming and we need to be prepared...

There will be a fight back. Just as we are organizing ourselves now, more workers will turn to their unions as the only means for an organized and militant defense of our living standard. More and more people are saying, "Enough is enough!" And they are right. We have to be organized to defend ourselves-no one else will do it for us.

What we can do now is form something like committees of correspondence between Westinghouse and GE locals. This could take the form of a national CBC (inter-union) newspaper where we can maintain regular contact. Or we could open the pages of our respective papers to each other to have a dialogue on how to better organize ourselves.

The historic goal of the union movement is simple and clear: a higher standard of living, better working conditions, a COLA that keeps us ahead of inflation, no-cost healthcare and a secure future in our retirement of all workers, whether organized in unions or not.

None of this will come about by thinking that we are just not strong enough to defend ourselves and therefore we must rely on friendly politicians for our salvation. What a cruel joke! With a fighting and determined union leadership and membership we can stand up to the bosses and win. And that is just what we intend to do.

ACTION JUNE 1991 7

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Castro calls on Cuban youth to defend socialism:

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STOP BUSTING SOLDARIY

LOCAL G SUPPORTS 1.A.M.