BY HELEN MEYERS
EAST PEORIA, Illinois - Hundreds of workers in central
Illinois joined in two solidarity actions February 5 and 6 for
strikers at Tazewell Machine Works in Pekin, Illinois. The 82
strikers are members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2283.
They were joined by other UAW members from nearby Caterpillar
and Mitsubishi plants, coal miners in the United Mine Workers of
America (UMWA), and members of the International Union of
Electronic Workers (IUE) on strike at Lenc-Smith in Cicero,
Illinois.
Tazewell workers walked out on October 5, demanding better working conditions and benefits. They are also on strike against Tazewell's demand to end the union dues check-off procedure, which strikers see as a company attempt to break their union.
Between 75 and 100 Tazewell strikers and supporters held a rally outside the struck plant February 5. As strikebreakers working inside the plant left that afternoon, the pickets greeted them with loud shouts at disciplined lines outside both entrances. Some of the strikers shook noisemakers of soda cans filled with small stones. They got this idea from the Lenc-Smith strikers when Tazewell striker Terry Beebe participated in an IUE support rally in Chicago two days earlier. (See accompanying article.)
Justin West, a member of UAW Local 2488 at the Diamond Star Mitsubishi plant, was at the rally. His local organized raffles and other fund-raisers to support the Tazewell strike. One group of workers donated $1,000 from money they get from selling soda cans. "This is a fight for all workers," West said.
Caterpillar workers host fund-raiser
On February 6, UAW Local 974, the Caterpillar local in East
Peoria, held a chili supper fund-raiser for the Tazewell
strikers. The local's Tactical Response Team - workers who
helped lead the strikes against Caterpillar in the early
1990s - played a central role in organizing the event. Hundreds
of Caterpillar workers, their family members, and retirees from
the Peoria area and Aurora attended the dinner and raffle, which
raised more than $8,000. Three strikers from Lenc-Smith, some
members of UMWA Local 1969 who struck Freeman United Coal last
fall, and other area unionists also participated.
Chad Hartley, president of the striking local at Tazewell, described their fight. Meeting organizers encouraged everyone to rally at Tazewell on February 15 from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Bill Wheat is a sheet metal fabrication worker who has been at Caterpillar for 28 years and was one of the "illegally terminated" workers that Caterpillar fired for union activity and was forced to rehire. He explained why the Cat workers have shown so much interest in the Tazewell strike. "Our fight had every aspect of a union struggle except the National Guard: we had state police, local police, Vance Security, marches and rallies, and it's not over yet.... The solidarity we've extended has helped the Tazewell strikers to sustain their struggle. None of them has crossed the picket line.... A victory at Tazewell will show people that unionism is back, that we can still fight, and that we can still win."
Wheat is also a member of the Tactical Response Team, which he said "sets an example. Other strikers we have helped in the past have gone on to help somebody else. The people from the Vermont foundry went to Tazewell. Tazewell people went to Lenc- Smith workers in Cicero. Lenc-Smith people came here to support the Tazewell chili dinner. It's the companies that are creating all this solidarity."
A high point of the afternoon event came when Tazewell striker Beebe introduced three members of IUE Local 1199 who were locked-out during their strike at Lenc-Smith. "We need to get up to Chicago," Beebe told the gathering. "I want to get a busload from here to go to up to Cicero to go on that picket line." During the next hour, some two dozen Caterpillar and Tazewell workers and retired UAW members signed up to go on the bus.
Increased police harassment
At Tazewell and Lenc-Smith the bosses have raised the stakes
by using the cops and courts to try and stop the pickets. On
January 12 two Lenc-Smith strikers were arrested on trumped-up
charges of harassing an applicant for a job at the struck plant.
They have a court hearing on February 22.
A couple of weeks later on February 1, two Tazewell strikers were arrested for allegedly harassing two workers leaving the plant. Both the company and the city of Pekin filed injunctions against the strikers and their supporters.
Helen Meyers is a member of UAW Local 719. Cappy Kidd, also a member of UAW Local 719, contributed to this article.
CHICAGO - Chanting, "We want justice!" 125 Lenc-Smith strikers and supporters rallied and marched through downtown Chicago February 3. Marchers carried dozens of hand-lettered signs: "We want a fair contract," "No wage cuts!," "Today it's us, tomorrow it could be you," "Slavery Time is Over!" They distributed flyers explaining the reasons for their seven-month strike.
The strikers, members of International Union of Electronic Workers (IUE) Local 1199, who make video game cabinets organized the protest in front of the annual meeting of shareholders of Lenc-Smith's parent corporation, WMS. The march was covered by the Spanish-language television station Channel 44.
The workers struck last July after Lenc-Smith demanded pay cuts of up to $2.00 per hour. On January 13 Lenc-Smith announced it was locking out the workers, after they again rejected the company's demands.
"This is not just any strike," striker Grace Herrada told the rally, "but one where workers care enough to make sacrifices. We need to change the conditions of human life for everyone. This is a hard struggle, but we can do it!" she concluded to cheers. Speakers included IUE International official Thomas Rebman, Chicago Federation of Labor president Don Turner, Rev. Dr. Richard Bundy of the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, and Casa Atzlán executive director Carlos Arango.
Among the marchers was Terry Beebe, a member of UAW Local 2283 on strike at Tazewell Machine Works in Pekin, Illinois, who traveled to Chicago for the rally.
"What really bothers me," Beebe said after the rally, "is that they want to drop these workers to near minimum wage." He pointed to the police harassment and arrests of Lenc-Smith strikers, many of whom are immigrant workers. "If you live here and work here, as far as I'm concerned you are an American like me. You have rights!" he concluded.