These were among the handmade signs carried by striking Glass Workers and supporters from unions affiliated with the Muncie-based East Central Indiana Labor Council (AFL-CIO) at a picket line in front of the Jay County courthouse here November 14.

More than 100 workers marched in solidarity with four strikers at Indiana Glass Company in nearby Dunkirk who are facing contempt of court charges. The charges alleged the four violated an antistrike injunction issued by Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison after some 375 members of the American Flint Glass Workers Union walked off the job in October. Hutchison's father served as the company doctor at Indiana Glass. Among those joining the workers' action was State Rep. R. Tiny Adams from Muncie.

Workers packed Judge Hutchison's courtroom as he read plea bargained statements by strikers Coy Phillips, Dave Maynard, Dave Reynolds, and Beverly Bilbrey. After emphasizing that each of the four strikers were "stipulating" that they had violated the injunction and were in contempt of court, Judge Hutchison slapped them with fines and jail time, which he suspended pending their abiding by the injunction for six months.

And in the cruelest blow, which drew bitter cries of "kangaroo court!" afterward in discussions in front of the courthouse and back at the union hall in Dunkirk, these union fighters were required to resign from their jobs at Indiana Glass.

One striker, Coy Phillips, had nearly 36 years at the company and another more than 20. Unemployment benefits can be denied to the four now because of the resignations, according to strikers.

Indiana Glass managers and a half dozen thugs from Huffmaster Security, who are used by the bosses to harass and attempt to provoke strikers, filled two rows on one side of the courtroom. The hired thugs, younger Black and Latino men, glared at many of the men and women on strike, most of whom were white. The thugs' behavior since early in the strike near the struck plant and around Dunkirk was key to provoking incidents that led to the trumped up charges against the strikers.

Unions in the region donated about $6,000 worth of groceries , which were distributed to the strikers at the union hall the day before Thanksgiving. Negotiations-- overseen by federal mediators--resumed November 29. Three glass workers face criminal charges stemming from strike-related activities in October.  
 
 
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