Vol. 79/No. 43 November 30, 2015
Wives of Steel rally backs locked-out ATI workers
VANDERGRIFT, Pa. — Wives of Steel, a group of spouses of members of the United Steelworkers locked out by Allegheny Technologies Inc., hosted a picket line rally for members of Steelworkers Local 1138 at the ATI plant here Nov. 4. More than 200 people came to show their support, including from the locals in Brackenridge and Latrobe.
ATI locked out 2,200 Steelworkers at 12 plants in six states Aug. 15. The company wants concessions that would slash health care, institute 12-hour shifts, cut pensions for current and future workers, reduce wages and overtime pay and contract out more work.
Wives of Steel has organized these rallies since July, and this one was a big success, not only measured by the amount of support we received from other unions, but because of the community support we got while standing on the line. The plant here is located on a very busy intersection and people driving by joined in by honking their horns, giving us the thumbs up and yelling, “Go home, scabs.”
These rallies are an opportunity for the men and women and their families to make a loud and clear message in their fight for a fair contract with ATI.
It is hard to stand on the picket line day-in and day-out during scheduled picket shifts and not be able to say much to the scabs (replacement workers and truckers) going in and out of the plant. There are normally anywhere from three to six guys on the picket line during a four-hour shift, and — let’s face it — that just isn’t enough to get the point across to the scabs that they are crossing a union picket line.
When you have 200-plus unionists and family members slowly walking in the crosswalk, it makes it hard for the scabs leaving and entering the plants to just pull out and go on their way.
The strikebreakers are beginning to be more aggressive verbally and physically. Laughing in our faces and showing paychecks is one thing, but driving erratically or swerving toward pickets is provocative and a safety issue.
Rallies promote a disciplined environment for us to yell “scab” and let them and ATI know how we feel about being locked out of our jobs.
On Nov. 9, 150 turned out for a picket line rally held at the ATI plant in Louisville, Ohio, 120 miles west of here. Local 1046 picket captain Dwayne Smedley reported support from the Steelworkers at Timkins Steel in nearby Canton, Ohio, and the Timkins Wives of Steel, as well as from Pat Fallot, mayor of Louisville, Ohio.
Regina Stinson is an organizer of Wives of Steel in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania.
Related articles:
Workers nationwide march for $15 and a union
Over 1,000 striking unionists picket Kohler in Wisconsin
Quebec: Framed-up rail workers plead ‘not guilty’
Walmart workers press for union rights in China
On the Picket Line
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