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Vol.64/No.1      January 10, 2000 
 
 
UAW strikers resist concessions at Terex plant in Iowa  
 
 
BY RAY PARSONS 
WAVERLY, Iowa—Nearly 200 workers, members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 411, went on strike here against Terex Crane on December 6. The company is a division of Terex Corp., a major manufacturer of surface mining and construction equipment.

"We've given up all we can, now it's the company's turn to give back," said striker Charles Murray. The unionists are fighting for higher wages, a return to free health-care benefits, and for healthcare and pension benefits for retirees.

More than 60 workers were laid off at the plant earlier this year. Before the walkout, workers rejected a Terex contract offer by a margin of 83 percent. Striker Mike Dunbar, who has 32 years in the plant, said, "There was a lot of fear among workers in the 1980s, but that is disappearing in the '90s."

Stan Stoppelmoor has 20 years in the plant. He said, "Corporate greed has taken over." About Terex bosses, he said, "Ask them anything, and you better have a Bible. They'll look you in the eye and stab you in the back at the same time. They'd make good politicians."

Terex is trying to maintain production during the strike using management and office personnel. Strikers say very few machines have been shipped out and the union is fighting a court injunction limiting the number of unionists at picket sites.

The Waverly plant produces lifting equipment, from $50,000 aerial work platforms to large truck-mounted cranes that sell for more than $350,000. When Militant reporters visited the strike picket lines much of the equipment seen stockpiled inside the plant was equipped with tires from Titan Tire.

Members of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) are on strike at Titan's plants in Des Moines, Iowa, and Natchez, Mississippi. Strikers we talked to were interested in making contact with the Titan workers to link up their fights.

At the UAW Local 411 hall in Waverly, large signs register the support the strike has received already, including over $500 contributed by members of Teamsters Local 650 who work at the Nestlé plant in town. Numerous groups and individuals have contributed food, coffee, and other supplies. Unionists from another plant owned by Terex have visited the picket lines to show their support.

The union and company met December 14 for the first time since the strike began.

Ray Parsons is a member of USWA Local 310 in Des Moines. Joe Swanson, a member of UAW Local 1672, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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