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Vol.64/No.1      January 10, 2000 
 
 
Foundry workers in Indiana discuss outcome of strike, next stage in struggle  
 
 
BY HARVEY MCARTHUR 
AUBURN, Indiana—Some 300 workers and family members took part in an enthusiastic Christmas party in Waterloo, Indiana December 12 for workers at the Auburn Foundry who had just ended a bitter six-month long strike. The event was sponsored by United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 164 at the Eaton Corp. plant in Auburn and United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 715 at the Goodrich-Michelin plant in Woodburn. Workers from these and several other USWA and UAW locals were particularly active in supporting the striking foundry workers, building picket line rallies and raising substantial amounts of money for the strike fund.

Some 675 members of the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union (GMP) Local 322 struck Auburn Foundry's two plants here May 3. They challenged the company over issues of safety and the bosses' demands to impose speedup and cut costs through attacks on seniority, attendance policies, and other workers' rights on the job. Auburn Foundry bosses immediately announced they would replace the strikers and began hiring large numbers of scabs, turning to the cops, courts, and private security guards to keep the foundry running.

On November 21, strikers voted to accept the company's harsh terms and ended their strike. By then, the bosses had 490 strikebreakers working, as well as 190 former GMP members who crossed the picket lines. The bosses only agreed to recall 150 strikers within six months, and the remainder by the end of the contract in 2003.

The day before the Christmas party some GMP members had received letters from the company, informing them that when they were recalled they would be "suspended pending termination" for allegedly "engaging in picket line misconduct." The employers are pressing this attack despite the November 21 strike settlement that provided for the union to drop unfair labor practice charges filed against the foundry in exchange for the company dropping charges against strikers. GMP member Larry Chapman told the Militant at least 26 strikers had received such notices, and that the union was planning to challenge the company's action.

In addition, by mid-December only seven strikers were back at work and others had no idea when they would actually be recalled. Discussions at the party reflected deep anger at the Auburn Foundry bosses and the determination of many workers to look for ways to continue the fight begun last May.

"The company never intended to negotiate," said Earl Back, Jr., a 32-year veteran of Auburn Foundry. "They want to take away all our rights and weaken the contract we had won in previous years.

"They brought in Vance Security who tried to antagonize us, who pulled guns on us, and even assaulted strikers on the picket line. Their aim was to try to get us to react and justify the courts issuing an injunction against picketing."

Early in the strike there were often 30-40 strikers present at noisy picket lines. But on May 29 the courts ordered the union to limit the pickets to two people per entrance. Later, the courts also brought charges against the GMP and a nearby USWA local for organizing support rallies near the plant.

"Police harassed and threatened us even when we weren't on the picket line," noted Glenn Martin. "They pulled me over and searched me and my car for no reason at all." Referring to the family who owns Auburn Foundry, he said, "The Finks work hand in hand with the local politicians. The rich folks always help each other. And the chief of police's son hired out as a scab."

Harassment and provocation by strike breakers and the company's security force were ignored by Auburn police, GMP members reported.

"Scabs could yell at us, threaten us, run stop signs, drive without lights at night, and the cops just stood by and did nothing," said Stephen Wilger. "But they stopped strike supporters who just waved at us, threatening them with tickets for 'improper hand signals' or 'failing to keep two hands on the wheel.' And they did issue tickets to dozens of strike supporters just for honking their horn as they passed a picket line."

Meanwhile, on December 14 Auburn Foundry officials announced they had settled out of court with plaintiffs in six federal discrimination suits filed against the company. Black workers had filed lawsuits over racial harassment in the plant and company discrimination several years ago, strikers reported.

"Foundry management is prejudiced," noted Chapman. "For years they never hired any Blacks, and at the time of the strike there were only about 10 or 14 working in the plants, out of 675 workers."

This was an important issue in the strike, as Foundry bosses hired hundreds of Black workers, many from nearby Fort Wayne, as strike breakers.

"They only brought in Black workers after the strike began," Chapman said, "trying to get us on using racial slurs. They knew this is a prejudiced area." And indeed, one of the claims made by the company in obtaining the court order restricting picketing was that strikers yelled racial epithets at strike breakers.

Chapman also noted that although some Black workers were among the 190 GMP members who broke ranks and crossed the picket lines during the strike, other Blacks "stuck with the rest of us to the end."

Strikers had picketed strike breaker hiring sessions organized by the PMI temporary labor agency in Fort Wayne, trying to convince applicants not to take the jobs.

"Not all the scabs were bad people," striker George Paul said in an earlier interview with the Militant. "But many had been misused by bosses in other jobs, or were making only $8 or $9 an hour. They saw an ad for a job paying $14 an hour and it looked good. Then they came into the strike situation without knowing what was going on."

In addition to discussing lessons of their strike experience, some GMP members at the Christmas party were beginning to make plans to continue the struggle, including supporting other workers on strike. Chapman and others talked enthusiastically of their trip to Mansfield, Ohio, earlier this fall, where they had joined a rally supporting Steelworkers locked out by AK/Armco Steel, and a trip to the picket line of striking foundry workers in Decatur, Indiana.

"A bunch of the guys want to go back to Mansfield," said Chapman, "and we hope to do it soon, taking advantage of the fact that many of us are still off work."

Harvey McArthur is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 100 in Chicago.  
 
 
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