What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
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Kirk David
Jul 2, 2008, 8:32:45 PM7/2/08
to American Axle Workers, kirkda...@yahoo.ca
Labor Notes has a fantastic article by Wendy and Chris about the AAM
strike!
What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
July 2 2008
Wendy Thompson and Chris Kutalik
The aftershocks of the late-May defeat of the American Axle and
Manufacturing (AAM) strike will be felt in the unionized sections of
the auto industry—and beyond—for years to come. Swinging in line with
the deep concessions made in the Big 3 contract settlements last fall,
the AAM deal effectively completes the gutting of union contracts in
the auto parts industry.
Close to two-thirds of all auto workers were union in the early 1980s;
by 2006 that number had shrunk to just under 30 percent. Once a United
Auto Workers stronghold, the parts sector in the past two decades has
been the vanguard of the union’s decline.
The steep givebacks at AAM will cut current workers’ wages in half and
eliminate pensions for new hires (see Labor Notes June 2008). Workers
estimate that a third will soon retire or take a buyout rather than
work for these wages.
And AAM managers have added to the bitterness with a tough crackdown
on work rules. “Managers were told to break us,” said Sylvia Moore, a
skilled-trades worker at Detroit Axle, to a crowd of 250 supporters at
a June 14 tribute dinner for the strikers. “We’re not even allowed to
talk to each other on the line anymore. You talk, you get written up.”
BEYOND MOURNING
Faced with setbacks of such magnitude, old union warhorses might echo
Joe Hill’s ghost: “Don’t mourn, organize!” But winning such fights is
possible only if unions take stock, learn the lessons, and change
course.
The UAW has a strike fund of $1 billion, and AAM was profitable. The
strike shut down 35 General Motors plants that rely on AAM parts in
some way. The union had huge economic leverage and yet it lost the
strike. What could it have done to win?
Even if the union had done everything right, this strike was no slam
dunk. Wages were already low at AAM’s union and non-union competitors.
CEO Dick Dauch was known for his hard-headedness, and he had acquired
plants in Mexico and lower-wage ones in the U.S. outside the UAW’s
master agreement.
But the UAW did not use the considerable advantages it had. One seed
of victory was a local membership open to action. As the strike wore
on, some members in Detroit spoke up for blocking truck deliveries,
holding community rallies, or civil disobedience at the plant gates.
In a state with one of the highest union densities in the country, the
union could have tapped thousands to come out for rallies or to swell
picket lines. The UAW alone has well over 100,000 members in the
immediate area.
But instead of keeping the pressure on AAM through such actions, union
tops wavered. The UAW International had called for a large community
rally in mid-April in downtown Detroit. But after Dauch requested that
they call it off, officials dutifully agreed to indefinitely
“postpone” the action.
Many rank and filers saw the cancellation as a betrayal, and the olive
branch to Dauch had no effect, as negotiations dragged on for weeks
longer.
“I was so angry that the International had cancelled the rally,” said
Ada Walker of Local 235. Walker was arrested at a 1,500-member-strong
rally that Local 235 organized on its own, in Detroit. The rally shut
down Holbrook Avenue, which runs through Detroit Axle and past
corporate headquarters, for several hours.
CONTRACT CAMPAIGN
Besides tactics during the strike, UAW leaders could have put the heat
on before the contract expired—relying on members like Walker.
Contract campaigns are not a radical notion; the UAW could have
cribbed from the mobilization manuals of CWA, UNITE HERE, or SEIU. The
best of these campaigns rely on a full-court press. Member-to-member
networks, contract action teams, informational pickets, rallies inside
the workplace, shop floor actions, media blitzes, working-to-rule,
floods of grievances, and other creative tactics fit together in a
long-term fight that involves members early on.
Strong contract campaigns sometimes begin as early as a year and a
half before expiration, and escalate over a time frame that keeps pace
with tactics at the bargaining table. A key factor is keeping members
informed and participating with a transparent negotiating strategy.
In 2006, more than a year before expiration, Dauch had demanded
concessions, and when the UAW refused to open the contract, he
threatened to put no new work into the five union plants under the
master contract. That early warning should have been the starting
point of a contract campaign.
Key tactics could have been working-to-rule and an overtime ban. This
would have reduced the stockpile of parts that AAM used as a buffer
during the first weeks of the strike.
And the union should not have ignored the two AAM plants that were not
under the master agreement. Although their contracts were not up,
members there could have been brought into the fight as well.
TAKING STOCK
At the negotiating table early this year, American Axle executives
looked for and ultimately received the host of concessions that other
major unionized parts makers have enjoyed at the expense of workers.
The fact that many of those parts makers were able to use bankruptcy
courts to force open contracts mid-term to win these goals—and that
American Axle has itself been profitable—made little difference. The
balance of power swung toward the company and away from a union led by
officials afraid to use their influence.
The new contract pushes American Axle workers even further outside the
protective skirt of the UAW’s master contracts with the Big 3. Though
formally under a separate national contract after GM sold its axle and
gear plants in 1994, the union kept many of the strong provisions in
the GM contract intact at the company.
The recent agreement wipes out these contractual defenses. In a major
give-away, the new agreement surrenders the right to strike at the end
of the grievance procedure for health and safety issues in favor of
arbitration. By ignoring the old, stronger body of GM arbitration case
law, the strength of all new arbitrations themselves will be greatly
weakened.
Instead of saving jobs through painful but supposedly necessary
concessions, UAW officials may have only emboldened the company more.
AAM further weakened the remaining leverage the UAW could have wielded
with its national agreement by effectively decreasing the share of
production overall under the terms of that agreement.
While two master agreement plants will close, two other plants under
separate UAW contracts with lower wages and benefits will remain open.
Non-union plants bought up by the company in recent years are also
expected to stay up and working.
Even more ominously, this double-breasting is expected to go global.
Less than a week after the strike settled, AAM executives announced
that they expect 85 percent of their new production will now come from
Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Poland, and Thailand. An estimated 65
percent to 70 percent of those new parts are expected to come back to
U.S. plants to be assembled.
NO PARTIAL MEASURES
The UAW could have used some of the strike tactics it got partially
right to fuller advantage.
For one, it could have put more pressure on GM, AAM’s main customer,
in order to convince GM to twist Dauch’s arm to settle. The UAW called
a May walkout at the Chevy Malibu plant in Kansas, which prodded GM to
offer money for buyouts. But that strike was short and late in the
game.
To its credit, the UAW investigated and tracked the movement of scab
parts coming from Mexico. Unfortunately, it did very little with the
information. Pickets could have been set up at delivery points, and
workers could have refused to move the parts at UAW plants.
The UAW could have promoted an aggressive strategy to counter AAM’s
threats to bring in scabs in the last weeks of the strike. A number of
Detroit members cited fear of scabs as a reason they voted for the
contract.
UAW International officials told workers at the Detroit contract
information meeting that the laws were stacked against the union when
it came to scab threats. But in fact, federal law makes it difficult
to permanently replace workers in an unfair labor practices strike,
like this one.
More important, unions have time-tested methods for keeping scabs off
the property: exposing and mass picketing scab-provider firms,
pressuring individual scabs, and physically preventing them from
crossing the lines.
Over the long run, of course, the union must organize the growing
majority of non-union parts workers. More defeats will follow if UAW
leaders refuse to commit member organizers and money at the scale
needed.
The AAM strike faced shorter odds than many. The power to put up a
credible fight was there; the difficult part was building a vibrant
rank-and-file movement that organized around how to use it.
[Wendy Thompson is the retired president of UAW Local 235 at Detroit
Axle.]
---
Axle Strikers Bloodied Employers’ Noses
AAM lost sales of $370 million or 250,000 vehicles because of the
strike.
GM says it will lose $2.4 billion because of the strike.
GM lost 30,000 production units in second quarter, 100,000 in first
quarter due to AAM strike directly
GM lost an additional 33,000 production units from other recent
related strikes at Chevy Malibu, Delta, and other plants
As a result of its losses, GM was forced to pony up $218 million for
buyouts and buydowns.
---
Winning Strikes Start with Strategy
Most successful strikes in the last decade have rested on thought-out,
member-centered strategies. A Troublemaker’s Handbook 2 [1] lists a
number of key questions to consider before heading out to the picket
line. For the complete list and examples of “best practices” on how to
run strikes and contract campaigns, check out chapters 8 & 9 in the
handbook [2]. Another useful guide is Strikes, Picketing, and Inside
Campaigns [3] by Robert Schwartz.
Links:
[1] http://labornotes.org/store/books
[2] http://labornotes.org/store/books
[3] http://labornotes.org/strikes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source URL:
http://labornotes.org/node/1797
http://labornotes.org/node/1797/print
strike!
What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
July 2 2008
Wendy Thompson and Chris Kutalik
The aftershocks of the late-May defeat of the American Axle and
Manufacturing (AAM) strike will be felt in the unionized sections of
the auto industry—and beyond—for years to come. Swinging in line with
the deep concessions made in the Big 3 contract settlements last fall,
the AAM deal effectively completes the gutting of union contracts in
the auto parts industry.
Close to two-thirds of all auto workers were union in the early 1980s;
by 2006 that number had shrunk to just under 30 percent. Once a United
Auto Workers stronghold, the parts sector in the past two decades has
been the vanguard of the union’s decline.
The steep givebacks at AAM will cut current workers’ wages in half and
eliminate pensions for new hires (see Labor Notes June 2008). Workers
estimate that a third will soon retire or take a buyout rather than
work for these wages.
And AAM managers have added to the bitterness with a tough crackdown
on work rules. “Managers were told to break us,” said Sylvia Moore, a
skilled-trades worker at Detroit Axle, to a crowd of 250 supporters at
a June 14 tribute dinner for the strikers. “We’re not even allowed to
talk to each other on the line anymore. You talk, you get written up.”
BEYOND MOURNING
Faced with setbacks of such magnitude, old union warhorses might echo
Joe Hill’s ghost: “Don’t mourn, organize!” But winning such fights is
possible only if unions take stock, learn the lessons, and change
course.
The UAW has a strike fund of $1 billion, and AAM was profitable. The
strike shut down 35 General Motors plants that rely on AAM parts in
some way. The union had huge economic leverage and yet it lost the
strike. What could it have done to win?
Even if the union had done everything right, this strike was no slam
dunk. Wages were already low at AAM’s union and non-union competitors.
CEO Dick Dauch was known for his hard-headedness, and he had acquired
plants in Mexico and lower-wage ones in the U.S. outside the UAW’s
master agreement.
But the UAW did not use the considerable advantages it had. One seed
of victory was a local membership open to action. As the strike wore
on, some members in Detroit spoke up for blocking truck deliveries,
holding community rallies, or civil disobedience at the plant gates.
In a state with one of the highest union densities in the country, the
union could have tapped thousands to come out for rallies or to swell
picket lines. The UAW alone has well over 100,000 members in the
immediate area.
But instead of keeping the pressure on AAM through such actions, union
tops wavered. The UAW International had called for a large community
rally in mid-April in downtown Detroit. But after Dauch requested that
they call it off, officials dutifully agreed to indefinitely
“postpone” the action.
Many rank and filers saw the cancellation as a betrayal, and the olive
branch to Dauch had no effect, as negotiations dragged on for weeks
longer.
“I was so angry that the International had cancelled the rally,” said
Ada Walker of Local 235. Walker was arrested at a 1,500-member-strong
rally that Local 235 organized on its own, in Detroit. The rally shut
down Holbrook Avenue, which runs through Detroit Axle and past
corporate headquarters, for several hours.
CONTRACT CAMPAIGN
Besides tactics during the strike, UAW leaders could have put the heat
on before the contract expired—relying on members like Walker.
Contract campaigns are not a radical notion; the UAW could have
cribbed from the mobilization manuals of CWA, UNITE HERE, or SEIU. The
best of these campaigns rely on a full-court press. Member-to-member
networks, contract action teams, informational pickets, rallies inside
the workplace, shop floor actions, media blitzes, working-to-rule,
floods of grievances, and other creative tactics fit together in a
long-term fight that involves members early on.
Strong contract campaigns sometimes begin as early as a year and a
half before expiration, and escalate over a time frame that keeps pace
with tactics at the bargaining table. A key factor is keeping members
informed and participating with a transparent negotiating strategy.
In 2006, more than a year before expiration, Dauch had demanded
concessions, and when the UAW refused to open the contract, he
threatened to put no new work into the five union plants under the
master contract. That early warning should have been the starting
point of a contract campaign.
Key tactics could have been working-to-rule and an overtime ban. This
would have reduced the stockpile of parts that AAM used as a buffer
during the first weeks of the strike.
And the union should not have ignored the two AAM plants that were not
under the master agreement. Although their contracts were not up,
members there could have been brought into the fight as well.
TAKING STOCK
At the negotiating table early this year, American Axle executives
looked for and ultimately received the host of concessions that other
major unionized parts makers have enjoyed at the expense of workers.
The fact that many of those parts makers were able to use bankruptcy
courts to force open contracts mid-term to win these goals—and that
American Axle has itself been profitable—made little difference. The
balance of power swung toward the company and away from a union led by
officials afraid to use their influence.
The new contract pushes American Axle workers even further outside the
protective skirt of the UAW’s master contracts with the Big 3. Though
formally under a separate national contract after GM sold its axle and
gear plants in 1994, the union kept many of the strong provisions in
the GM contract intact at the company.
The recent agreement wipes out these contractual defenses. In a major
give-away, the new agreement surrenders the right to strike at the end
of the grievance procedure for health and safety issues in favor of
arbitration. By ignoring the old, stronger body of GM arbitration case
law, the strength of all new arbitrations themselves will be greatly
weakened.
Instead of saving jobs through painful but supposedly necessary
concessions, UAW officials may have only emboldened the company more.
AAM further weakened the remaining leverage the UAW could have wielded
with its national agreement by effectively decreasing the share of
production overall under the terms of that agreement.
While two master agreement plants will close, two other plants under
separate UAW contracts with lower wages and benefits will remain open.
Non-union plants bought up by the company in recent years are also
expected to stay up and working.
Even more ominously, this double-breasting is expected to go global.
Less than a week after the strike settled, AAM executives announced
that they expect 85 percent of their new production will now come from
Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Poland, and Thailand. An estimated 65
percent to 70 percent of those new parts are expected to come back to
U.S. plants to be assembled.
NO PARTIAL MEASURES
The UAW could have used some of the strike tactics it got partially
right to fuller advantage.
For one, it could have put more pressure on GM, AAM’s main customer,
in order to convince GM to twist Dauch’s arm to settle. The UAW called
a May walkout at the Chevy Malibu plant in Kansas, which prodded GM to
offer money for buyouts. But that strike was short and late in the
game.
To its credit, the UAW investigated and tracked the movement of scab
parts coming from Mexico. Unfortunately, it did very little with the
information. Pickets could have been set up at delivery points, and
workers could have refused to move the parts at UAW plants.
The UAW could have promoted an aggressive strategy to counter AAM’s
threats to bring in scabs in the last weeks of the strike. A number of
Detroit members cited fear of scabs as a reason they voted for the
contract.
UAW International officials told workers at the Detroit contract
information meeting that the laws were stacked against the union when
it came to scab threats. But in fact, federal law makes it difficult
to permanently replace workers in an unfair labor practices strike,
like this one.
More important, unions have time-tested methods for keeping scabs off
the property: exposing and mass picketing scab-provider firms,
pressuring individual scabs, and physically preventing them from
crossing the lines.
Over the long run, of course, the union must organize the growing
majority of non-union parts workers. More defeats will follow if UAW
leaders refuse to commit member organizers and money at the scale
needed.
The AAM strike faced shorter odds than many. The power to put up a
credible fight was there; the difficult part was building a vibrant
rank-and-file movement that organized around how to use it.
[Wendy Thompson is the retired president of UAW Local 235 at Detroit
Axle.]
---
Axle Strikers Bloodied Employers’ Noses
AAM lost sales of $370 million or 250,000 vehicles because of the
strike.
GM says it will lose $2.4 billion because of the strike.
GM lost 30,000 production units in second quarter, 100,000 in first
quarter due to AAM strike directly
GM lost an additional 33,000 production units from other recent
related strikes at Chevy Malibu, Delta, and other plants
As a result of its losses, GM was forced to pony up $218 million for
buyouts and buydowns.
---
Winning Strikes Start with Strategy
Most successful strikes in the last decade have rested on thought-out,
member-centered strategies. A Troublemaker’s Handbook 2 [1] lists a
number of key questions to consider before heading out to the picket
line. For the complete list and examples of “best practices” on how to
run strikes and contract campaigns, check out chapters 8 & 9 in the
handbook [2]. Another useful guide is Strikes, Picketing, and Inside
Campaigns [3] by Robert Schwartz.
Links:
[1] http://labornotes.org/store/books
[2] http://labornotes.org/store/books
[3] http://labornotes.org/strikes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source URL:
http://labornotes.org/node/1797
http://labornotes.org/node/1797/print
Overfield
Jul 3, 2008, 10:02:50 AM7/3/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
The problem with this article, and the reason workers lost the "strike" is
that it fails to accept the obvious. As was born out in the "leaked"
documents at the beginning of the strike, the UAW's goal was a concessionary
contract on par with the Delphi agreement. That goal was effectively
reached with the use of the phony strike which wore the workers down
financially and mentally.
that it fails to accept the obvious. As was born out in the "leaked"
documents at the beginning of the strike, the UAW's goal was a concessionary
contract on par with the Delphi agreement. That goal was effectively
reached with the use of the phony strike which wore the workers down
financially and mentally.
It was the exact same strategy used on Buffalo Plant Workers, so it should
not have been a surprise. The problem with the American Axle Workers was,
instead of accepting that the UAW is American Axle, they let themselves be
led around by the nose, expecting that the "Union" would do something for
them. They let American Axle AND the UAW Violate their rights under the law
as well as the UAW Constitution.
The important lesson to be learned isn't what the UAW didn't do, it's what
it did. The UAW is in collusion with the Auto Industry. What went wrong
with the American Axle strike is that workers and opposition leaders REFUSED
to except that fact and act accordingly. Until workers accept the fact that
the UAW is a tool of management and no longer a workers advocate, we will
continue to see what happened at AAM happen throughout the industry.
The only hope that workers have is to organize outside of the UAW and to
fight for their rights against the greedy corporations AND to win back their
Union.
-----Original Message-----
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kirk David
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 8:33 PM
To: American Axle Workers
Cc: kirkda...@yahoo.ca
Subject: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Labor Notes has a fantastic article by Wendy and Chris about the AAM
strike!
What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
July 2 2008
Wendy Thompson and Chris Kutalik
The aftershocks of the late-May defeat of the American Axle and
Manufacturing (AAM) strike will be felt in the unionized sections of
the auto industry-and beyond-for years to come. Swinging in line with
BEYOND MOURNING
CONTRACT CAMPAIGN
on before the contract expired-relying on members like Walker.
TAKING STOCK
courts to force open contracts mid-term to win these goals-and that
American Axle has itself been profitable-made little difference. The
wthom...@aol.com
Jul 9, 2008, 5:50:46 PM7/9/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
Analyzing the AAM strike is important. Tony does not give any credence to a militancy that did exist among the rank and file before the strike. The AAM UAW members did want to fight and this in turn did put pressure on the UAW leadership. It was by far harder to push concessions on workers of a corporation that was profitable. It was the rank and file that got the UAW to call a strike on this basis.
Further, it had been the Chrysler workers who had made this point after the GM and Ford contracts were reopened midstream a few years ago. There was no reopening for them on that basis and the same for American Axle. It’s not helpful for us as rank and file workers to put ourselves down when in fact our actions do make a difference.
Sure, the UAW leadership is now saying the strike could not be won and that raises the legitimate question of why then did they recommend going on strike in the first place! However, the fact is the strike could have been won and this is what the article is trying to address: how. If the rank and file feels the strike would have been lost even if you had top notch leadership, then that would make the leadership question moot.
I agree with Tony that in fact the loss of the strike was due to leadership unwilling to fight. What do we do about that? Do we abandon unions altogether? Do we recommend another union and if so which one? Tony does not explain what he means by “working outside” the UAW. Where does he point to for advancing our cause? I don’t see anything happening “outside” quite honestly and do not find his solution very concrete or viable.
As difficult as it is reforming the UAW – I have spent 36 years trying – I just don’t see an alternative. You have similar efforts going on in the Teamsters and SEIU. Most of the other unions need reform movements too but don’t even have the history of rank and file struggle we do. Wherever you are you must start with the seeds of discontent that exist and build from there.
Wendy
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Overfield
Jul 10, 2008, 8:32:42 AM7/10/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
Wendy,
“Most of the workers wanted to fight”…??? What are you smoking? Most of the workers voted yes without a hint of fight. They did what the UAW told them to do like good little sheep because they trusted the UAW to take care of them, because people like you gave them the false hope that, that’s what would happen. Until workers realize that the UAW is just as big an enemy as greedy management, nothing can change.
wthom...@aol.com
Jul 10, 2008, 6:42:01 PM7/10/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
There was a disconnect between the vote and what occurred during the strike. I am referring to the plant gate collection of $700 for Shifting Gears before the strike, the militancy on the picket lines – certainly in Detroit and Three Rivers, the spontaneous support from other unionists, the informational picket lines not sanctioned by the International at 3 Rivers, the rally at the AAM headquarters which only happened because of membership action of Local 235.
As time dragged on demoralization grew due to lack of initiative by the International and yes a lack of a willingness on the part of the rank and file to take independent action.
Shifting Gears called for several information picket lines in Detroit and the turn-out was very small. The membership did not understand the importance of their own independent action and could not understand the lack of action by the International. Remember L. 235 did not blindly follow the lead of the International last contract. But, it did not make sense to them for the International to call a strike this time and then not proceed to try to win it.
In no way shape or form did the yes vote mean the members supported the contract or the International. It did mean they had given up and had no faith a no vote would change anything. The big error the membership continues to make as it has in the past is in not being willing to take the lead with their own self activity. The tendancy is to wait for someone to do it for them. This idea of business or service unionism must be overcome for us to make advances. The right lessons can be learned from a defeat as well as a victory if people are willing to listen. It doesn’t help if rank and file leaders cease in giving encouragement. This we must do. But we can’t do it for the people, the people must do it for themselves.
Overfield
Jul 13, 2008, 8:24:20 PM7/13/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
The only disconnect is between you and the reality of what happened. What transpired was an exact duplicate of what happened at the Buffalo Plant. They followed the same strategy and used the same tactics and again were very successful. The rallying around the Union Flag, the demoralization was part of the plan. You yourself refused to take any independent action, so how could we expect anyone else to? Actually, the insistence of the rank & file to follow the UAW off a cliff is the most baffling thing I have ever seen or heard of. I think only you can tell us why you refused to take any action against the UAW even though you knew full well that they we’re violating workers rights under the UAW constitution.
How many informational pickets did you try to organize in front of Squalid House or the local Union headquarters? The fact is that the UAW was just as active in destroying the workers lives as American Axle was. Although you chose to ignore that fact, the workers didn’t. They voted yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
The UAW and its Auto Industry partners aren’t done yet. Look for them to use the same strategy and tactics to dissolve anything that may be left. As long as there are people like you that continue to put their blind faith in them, they’ll continue to suck every last bit of energy and life out of the members.
wthom...@aol.com
Jul 27, 2008, 12:27:44 AM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
On this I agree with you.
No independent action? Wrong. 2 informational picket lines where scab parts were being delivered. I do not appreciate your slanderous remark that I show blind faith towards the International Union. Respect my right to disagree with you about a picket line at Solidarity House without feeling that you have to slam me for it. I have been respectful towards you. I insist upon respect in return.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups.c om
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 8:24 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups .com
Sent: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 8:32 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 10:02 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
They voted yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups.c om
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 8:24 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
The only disconnect is between you and the reality of what happened. What transpired was an exact duplicate of what happened at the Buffalo Plant. They followed the same strategy and used the same tactics and again were very successful. The rallying around the Union Flag, the demoralization was part of the plan. You yourself refused to take any independent action, so how could we expect anyone else to? Actually, the insistence of the rank & file to follow the UAW off a cliff is the most baffling thing I have ever seen or heard of. I think only you can tell us why you refused to take any action against the UAW even though you knew full well that they we’re violating workers rights under the UAW constitution.
How many informational pickets did you try to organize in front of Squalid House or the local Union headquarters? The fact is that the UAW was just as active in destroying the workers lives as American Axle was. Although you chose to ignore that fact, the workers didn’t. They vot
ed yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
The UAW and its Auto Industry partners aren’t done yet. Look for them to use the same strategy and tactics to dissolve anything that may be left. As long as there are people like you that continue to put their blind faith in them, they’ll continue to suck every last bit of energy and life out of the members.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 6:42 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 6:42 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
There was a disconnect between the vote and what occurred during the strike. I am referring to the plant gate collection of $700 for Shifting Gears before the strike, the militancy on the picket lines – certainly in Detroit and Three Rivers, the spontaneous support from other unionists, the informational picket lines not sanctioned by the International at 3 Rivers, the rally at the AAM headquarters which only happened because of membership action of Local 235.
As time dragged on demoralization grew due to lack of initiative by the International and yes a lack of a willingness on the part of the rank and file to take independent action.
Shifting Gears called for several information picket lines in Detroit and the turn-out was very small. The membership did not understand the importance of their own independent action and could not understand t
he lack of action by the International. Remember L. 235 did not blindly follow the lead of the International last contract. But, it did not make sense to them for the International to call a strike this time and then not proceed to try to win it.
In no way shape or form did the yes vote mean the members supported the contract or the International. It did mean they had given up and had no faith a no vote would change anything. The big error the membership continues to make as it has in the past is in not being willing to take the lead with their own self activity. The tendancy is to wait for someone to do it for them. This idea of business or service unionism must be overcome for us to make advances. The right lessons can be learned from a defeat as well as a victory if people are willing to listen. It doesn’t help if rank and file leaders cease in giving encouragement. This we must do. But we can’t do it for the people, the people must do it for themselves.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups .com
Sent: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 8:32 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Wendy,
“Most of the workers wanted to fight”…??? What are you smoking? Most of the workers voted yes without a hint of fight. They did what the UAW told them to do like good little sheep because they trusted the UAW to take care of them, because people like you gave them the false hope that, that’s what would happen. Until workers realize that the UAW is just as big an enemy as greedy management, nothing can change.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:51 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:51 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Analyzing the AAM strike is important. Tony does not give any credence to a militancy that did exist among the rank and file before the strike. The AAM UAW members did want to fight and this in turn did put pressure on the UAW leadership. It was by far harder to push concessions on workers of a corporation that was profitable. It was the rank and file that got the UAW to call a strike on this basis.
Further,
it had been the Chrysler workers who had made this point after the GM and Ford contracts were reopened midstream a few years ago. There was no reopening for them on that basis and the same for American Axle. It’s not helpful for us as rank and file workers to put ourselves down when in fact our actions do make a difference.
Sure, the UAW leadership is now saying the strike could not be won and that raises the legitimate question of why then did they recommend going on strike in the first place! However, the fact is the strike could have been won and this is what the article is trying to address: how. If the rank and file feels the strike would have been lost even if you had top notch leadership, then that would make the leadership question moot.
I agree with Tony that in fact the loss of the strike was due to leadership20unwilling to fight. What do we do about that? Do we abandon unions altogether? Do we recommend another union and if so which one? Tony does not explain what he means by “working outside” the UAW. Where does he point to for advancing our cause? I don’t see anything happening “outside” quite honestly and do not find his solution very concrete or viable.
As difficult as it is reforming the UAW – I have spent 36 years trying – I just don’t see an alternative. You have similar efforts going on in the Teamsters and SEIU. Most of the other unions need reform movements too but don’t even have the history of rank and file struggle we do. Wherever you are you must start with the seeds of discontent that exist and build from there.
Wendy
&n bsp;
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 10:02 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
The problem with this article, and the reason workers lost the "strike" isthat it fails to accept the obvious. As was born out in the "leaked"documents at the beginning of the strike, the UAW's goal was a concessionarycontract on par with the Delphi agreement. That goal was effectivelyreached with the use of the phony strike which wore the workers downfinancially and mentally. It was the exact same strategy used on Buffalo Plant Workers, so it shouldnot have been a surprise. The problem with the American Axle Workers was,instead of accepting that the UAW is American Axle, they let themselves beled around by the nose, expecting that the "Union" would do something forthem. They let American Axle AND the UAW Violate their rights under the lawas well as the UAW Constitution. The important lesson to be learned isn't what the UAW didn't do, it's whatit did. The UAW is in collusion with the Auto Industry. What went wrongwith the American Axle strike is that workers and opposition leaders REFUSEDto except that fact and act accordingly. Until workers accept the fact thatthe UAW is=2
0a tool of management and no longer a workers advocate, we willcontinue to see what happened at AAM happen throughout the industry. The only hope that workers have is to organize outside of the UAW and tofight for their rights against the greedy corporations AND to win back theirUnion. -----Original Message-----From: american-a...@googlegroups.com[mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kirk DavidSent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 8:33 PMTo: American Axle WorkersSubject: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike? Labor Notes has a fantastic article by Wendy and Chris about the AAMstrike! What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?July 2 2008Wendy Thompson and Chris Kutalik The aftershocks of the late-May defeat of the American Axle andManufacturing (AAM) strike will be felt in the unionized sections ofthe auto industry-and beyond-for years to come. Swinging in line withthe deep concessions made in the Big 3 contract settlements last fall,the AAM deal effectively completes the gutting of union contracts inthe auto parts industry. Close to two-thirds of all auto workers were union in the early 1980s;by 2006 that number had shrunk to just under 30 percent. Once a UnitedAuto Workers stronghold, the parts sector in the past two decades hasbeen the vanguard of the union's decline. The steep givebacks at AAM will cut current workers' wages in half andeliminate pensions for new hires (see Labor Notes June 2008). Workersestimate that a third will soon retire or take a buyout rather thanwork for these wages. And AAM managers have added to the bitterness20with a tough crackdown< SPAN style="COLOR: black">
< PRE style="BACKGROUND: white">member-centered strategies. A Troublemaker's Handbook 2 [1] lists a
number of key questions to consider before heading out to the picketline. For the complete list and examples of "best practices" on how torun strikes and contract campaigns, check out chapters 8 & 9 in thehandbook [2]. Another useful guide is Strikes, Picketing, and InsideCampaigns [3] by Robert Schwartz.Links:[1] http://labornotes.org/store/books[2] http://labornotes.org/store/books[3] http://labornotes.org/strikes &nbs
p;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source URL:http://labornotes.org/node/1797http://labornotes.org/node/1797/print The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame20- in your browser. Get the TMZ Toolbar Now!
The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame - in your browser. Get the TMZ Toolbar Now!
Pete Bennett
Jul 27, 2008, 9:25:07 AM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
There was also independent action in Three Rivers
daily for months at a warehouse storing AAM parts made by supervisors and at an
aam scab recruiting site in Kalamazoo as well as by dozens of local citizens and
businesses. As for Wendy, not only did she lead independent actions,along
with Diane, Wendy got arrested here in Three Rivers for her efforts. When
one casts aspersions on Wendy Thompson without first hand knowledge of her
record of self-sacrifice to members, those who are familiar with her history
can't help but question the motives and intellect of he who casts the
stones. Back the truck up sir, you clearly do not know the whole story of
what went down in Michigan in the short or long term past. Pete Bennett
Three Rivers.
Overfield
Jul 27, 2008, 12:30:16 PM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
Scab parts? What’s that got to do with action against the UAW for their collusion in the destruction of thousands of lives? It was the UAW that gave their blessing to the scab parts and allowed them to be used.
Like I said time and time again, attacking only one enemy is fruitless. My disagreeing with you is not a lack of respect, just my opinion. I’m sure you realize on some level that all that hard work and dedication was wasted and I’m sure it hurts, but that has nothing to do with my respect for you.
When I spoke about independent action I meant independent action against the UAW.
I see you post here advocating protests against companies that the UAW supports whole heartedly. I guess I just don’t see the point, but again, I don’t see what that has to do with respect.
I’m sorry you feel my criticism of your trust and belief in Ronald Gettelfinger and the United Auto Workers is a “slam” or some kind of disrespect. All I did was state the obvious.
Overfield
Jul 27, 2008, 12:55:36 PM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
Again, independent action against one foe. Although the workers were on strike due to unfair labor practices, no one protested the fact that Ronald Gettelfinger and the UAW were violating the workers’ rights under the UAW constitution.
The simple fact is, the UAW assisted American Axle, as they have assisted the others in Detroit in lowering wages, benefits, and working conditions in direct violation of the UAW constitution. Although Wendy was very vocal about the injustices committed by American Axle, she failed to speak out against the injustices committed against the workers by the UAW. That too is now history.
You will never solve a problem by attacking only half of it. It’s unfortunate that Wendy and others, failed to see that. The strike needed to be more about what the United Auto Workers Bureaucracy has done to the workers they are paid cash money to support than looking for a greedy company and megalomaniac like Dick Dauch to throw them a bone.
To AAM’s credit, they were honest about their intentions long before the contract was up and never wavered from their stated purpose. On the other hand, the UAW gave away the store in the first couple weeks, and continued to give until there was nothing left. People were conned into selling their jobs for what amounts to pennies. As in Buffalo, NY, most of those workers will peel through that 18 months of salary pretty quickly. For the rest, there’s nothing left to look forward to other than a life of poverty. That’s not what workers paid the UAW for, that’s not in keeping with the word and spirit of the UAW Constitution.
Although the old GM people always had that fighting spirit, I always had a couple issues with them. First, most of the ones I knew were rabidly loyal to the UAW. Second, most were eligible for retirement and still had a rather cushy GM pension to look forward to, which meant they didn’t have as much to lose as the AAM Workers.
While I find it admirable that you stand up for your friend Wendy, maybe you should look at it from the point of view of the people who lost everything and not as someone unaffected by what happened. Keep on marching to the tune of the old blue and gold because their not done yet. Blame everyone and everything except the UAW. That’s how the US Auto Industry has been decimated. That’s what they are banking on.
Pete Bennett
Jul 27, 2008, 3:17:01 PM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
Thank you for sharing your opinions but I must set
the record straight. For just shy of 3 decades I have been a public critic
of the Administration Caucus yet still managed to be elected Convention Delegate
a record 5 times from my local. Recently I exposed the Caucus plan,
subsequently carried out, to deny members at the Tonawanda plant a choice
between a horrible contract with buyouts or a plant closing agreement with those
same buyouts. My efforts to alert the brothers and sisters in Tonawanda of
the plan brought down the wrath of the Caucus and many of my own members who
feared it might jeopardize our local, fortunately for me no harm was done to our
local or plant as a result or I might not be here to write this. Neither
Wendy, nor I, nor others who have born the scars of challenging the God Old Boys
network over the years can fairly be accused of marching to the tune of the old
blue and gold. The picketing against the use of struck parts
at the warehouse in three rivers was opposed by the International yet took
place anyway because of members acting independently and I didn't even know
about it till many hours after the fact. I admit that most of the time I
agree with positions taken by the Intl. on issues of the day as do most members,
because of that I choose to continue to attempt reform from within. That
effort may appear futile and even foolish to some but it is my choice. The
efforts of reformers like me and Wendy and Shot and hundreds of others are
sincere and yes we occasionally disagree as to tactics. Although no
longer working in the factory I am not unaffected, I still live here, still
interact with members, still serve the community, and most importantly still
care deeply for the welfare of all of our members here and elsewhere. It
may seem naive to some but choosing a path of reform from within and acting on
it is better than making no effort at all. In the short run, American
working class people are not likely to rise up and overthrow the entrenched
leadership of our unions or clean up the disparities of our economic or
political systems. We can talk about the evils of classes, parties,
caucuses, cliques, slates etc.. till we're blue in the face and get nowhere
due to public apathy or act in small increments tacking back and forth like a
sailor challenging a headwind and make small sometimes imperceptible
gains. Some philosopher once wrote something about cursing the darkness or
lighting a candle, I do a little of both where I can but prefer to do rather
than talk. Sorry if my ramblings seem inadequate to the task but each of
us must choose our own means to right wrongs. In as much as we are the
minority among a huge body of apathetic members I find it sad that our tiny
reform minded minority spends so much energy debating tactics and degrading each
other. Pete Bennett 3-Rivers.
wthom...@aol.com
Jul 27, 2008, 4:21:46 PM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
this is a lie and therefore is a slam
wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:30 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
No independent action? Wrong. 2 informational picket lines where scab parts were being delivered. I do not appreciate your slanderous remark that I show blind faith towards the International Union. Respect my right to disagree with you about a picket line at Solidarity House without feeling that you have to slam me for it. I have been respectful towards you. I insist upon respect in return.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups.c om
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 8:24 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a xle-workers@googlegroups .com
Sent: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 8:32 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
your trust and belief in Ronald Gettelfinger
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:30 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Scab parts? What’s that got to do with action against the UAW for their collusion in the destruction of thousands of lives? It was the UAW that gave their blessing to the scab parts and allowed them to be used.
Like I said time and time again, attacking only one enemy is fruitless. My disagreeing with you is not a lack of respect, just my opinion. I’m sure you realize on some level that all that hard work and dedication was wasted and I’m sure it hurts, but that has nothing to do with my respect for you.
When I spoke about independent action I meant independent action against the UAW.
I see you post here advocating protests against companies that the UAW supports whole heartedly. I guess I just don’t see the point, but again, I don’t see what that has to do with respect.
I’m sorry you feel my criticism of your trust and belief in Ronald Gettelfinger and the United Auto Workers is a “slam” or some kind of disrespect. All I did was state the obvious.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Beha
lf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:28 AM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:28 AM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
On this I agree with you.
They voted yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
No independent action? Wrong. 2 informational picket lines where scab parts were being delivered. I do not appreciate your slanderous remark that I show blind faith towards the International Union. Respect my right to disagree with you about a picket line at Solidarity House without feeling that you have to slam me for it. I have been respectful towards you. I insist upon respect in return.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups.c om
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 8:24 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
The only disconnect is between you and the reality of what happened. What transpired was an exact duplicate of what happened at the Buffalo Plant. They followed the same strategy and used the same tactics and again were very successful. The rallying around the Union Flag, the demoralization was part of the plan. You yourself refused to take any independent action, so how could we expect anyone else to? Actually, the insistence of the rank & file to follow the UAW off a cliff is the most baffling thing I have ever seen or heard of. I think only you can tell us why you refused to take any action against the UAW even though you knew full well that they we’re violating workers rights under the UAW constitution.
How many informational pickets did you try to organize in front of Squalid House or the local Union headquarters? The fact is that the UAW was just as active in destroying the workers lives as American Axle was. Although you chose to ignore that fact, the workers didn’t. They vot ed yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
The UAW and its Auto Industry partners aren’t done yet. Look for them to use the same strategy and tactics to dissolve anything that may be left. As long as there are people like you that continue to put their blind faith in them, they’ll continue to suck every last bit of energy and life out of the members.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10,=2 02008 6:42 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Thursday, July 10,=2 02008 6:42 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
There was a disconnect between the vote and what occurred during the strike. I am referring to the plant gate collection of $700 for Shifting Gears before the strike, the militancy on the picket lines – certainly in Detroit and Three Rivers, the spontaneous support from other unionists, the informational picket lines not sanctioned by the International at 3 Rivers, the rally at the AAM headquarters which only happened because of membership action of Local 235.
As time dragged on demoralization grew due to lack of initiative by the International and yes a lack of a willingness on the part of the rank and file to take independent action.
Shifting Gears called for several information picket lines in Detroit and the turn-out was very small. The membership did not understand the importance of their own independent action and could not understand t he lack of action by the Internat
ional. Remember L. 235 did not blindly follow the lead of the International last contract. But, it did not make sense to them for the International to call a strike this time and then not proceed to try to win it.
In no way shape or form did the yes vote mean the members supported the contract or the International. It did mean they had given up and had no faith a no vote would change anything. The big error the membership continues to make as it has in the past is in not being willing to take the lead with their own self activity. The tendancy is to wait for someone to do it for them. This idea of business or service unionism must be overcome for us to make advances. The right lessons can be learned from a defeat as well as a victory if people are willing to listen. It doesn’t help if rank and file leaders cease in giving encouragement. This we must do. But we can’t do it for the people, the people must do it for themselves.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a xle-workers@googlegroups .com
Sent: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 8:32 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Wendy,
“Most of the workers wanted to fight”…??? What are you smoking? Most of the workers voted yes without a hint of fight. They did what the UAW told them to do like good little sheep because they trusted the UAW to take care of them, because people like you gave them the false hope that, that’s what would happen. Until workers realize that the UAW is just as big an enemy as greedy management, nothing can change.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:51 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:51 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Analyzing the AAM strike is important. Tony does not give any credence to a militancy that did exist among the rank and file before the strike. The AAM UAW members did want to fight and this in turn did put pressure on the UAW leadership. It was by far harder to push concessions on workers of a corporation that was profitable. It was the rank and file that got the UAW to call a strike on this basis.
Further, it had been the Chrysler workers who had made this point after the GM and Ford contracts were reopened midstream a few years ago. There was no reopening for them on that basis and the same for American Axle. It’s not helpful for us as rank and file workers to put ourselves down when in fact our actions do make a difference.
Sure, the UAW leadership is now saying the strike could not be won and that raises the legitimate question of why then did they recommend going on strike in the first place! However, the fact is the strike could have been won and this is what the article is trying to address: how. If the rank and file feels the strike would have been lost even if you had top notch leadership, then that would make the leadership question moot.
I agree with Tony that in fact the loss of the strike was due to leadership20unwilling to fight. What do we do about that? Do we abandon unions altogether? Do we recommend another union and if so which one? Tony does not explain what he means by “working outside” the UAW. Where does he point to for advancing our cause? I don’t see anything happening “outside” quite honestly and do not find his solution very concrete or viable.
As difficult as it is reforming the UAW – I have spent 36 years trying – I just don’t see an alternative. You have similar efforts going on in the Teamsters and SEIU. Most of the other unions need reform movements too but don’t even have the history of rank and file struggle we do. Wherever you are you must start with the seeds of discontent that exist and build from there.
=0
D
Wendy
rally in mid-April in downtown Detroit. But after Dauch requested that< /TT>they call it off, officials dutifully agreed to indefinitely"postpone" the action. Many rank and filers saw the cancellation as a betrayal, and the olivebranch to Dauch had no effect, as negotiations dragged on for weekslonger. "I was so angry that the International had cancelled the rally," saidAda Walker of Local 235. Walker was arrested at a 1,500-member-strongrally that Local 235 organized on its own, in Detroit. The rally shutdown Holbrook Avenue, which runs through Detroit Axle and pastcorporate headquarters, for several hours. CONTRACT CAMPAIGN Besides tactics during the strike, UAW leaders could have put the heaton before the contract expired-relying on members like Walker. Contract campaigns are not a radical notion; the UAW could havecribbed from the mobilization manuals of CWA, UNITE HERE, or SEIU. Thebest of these campaigns rely on a full-court press. Member-to-membernetworks, contract action teams, informational pickets, rallies insidethe workplace, shop floor actions, media blitzes, working-to-rule,floods of grievances, and other creative tactics fit together in along-term fight that involves members early on. Strong contract campaigns20sometimes begin as early as a year and a
Larry Christensen
Jul 27, 2008, 4:28:36 PM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
Since at least 1947 the UAW, like other unions, has had a policy to limit any struggle to the smallest possible contractual group. They put a lid on things that should be boiling over and encouraged to boil over! If we have strength, it is in our numbers -- an injury to one is an injury to all! But it is not reasonable to expect that everyone will suddenly learn this all in one day or all in one struggle, after two generations of brainwashing.
Three months is an awesome amount of time to carry on a strike against foes as open as AAM and as subtle as the UAW. It
will mark an important point on the learning curve we as a workforce are undergoing.
I recommend this reprint:
The meaning of the American Axle strike
http://the-spark.net/np826601.html
For 12 weeks and three days, American Axle workers carried out a determined strike. Nonetheless they finally accepted a contract containing deep cuts in wages and benefits little better than the company’s original offer.
Some people looking at the strike have said it is discouraging. Maybe, but there is a great deal more that should be said.
This strike was provoked by the outrageous demands of American Axle, a company that could not even claim to be in financial trouble. The company proposed to cut wages to $11.50 to $14.50 per hour, as opposed to the $17.50 to $28.15 per hour workers had been making. But the issue was never just Axle and its situation. This disgusting “offer” was part of an offensive being carried out by the whole auto industry, which was already marked by what had happened at Delphi and at the Big Three auto companies.
In those earlier contract talks, the companies were either in bankruptcy, threatening bankruptcy or declaring what bad shape they were in. But then came American Axle, which could not deny that it had made a profit of 37 million dollars the previous year. Nonetheless it proposed to carry the attacks against auto workers quite a bit further. While the earlier contracts imposed two-tier wages on new hires, American Axle’s was looking to slash wages on the entire workforce.
Certainly General Motors, American Axle’s main customer, was ready for a strike if it happened. It had prepared by increasing its production of trucks and SUVs in January, the month before the strike. It increased its inventories from around 100 days to about 150 days during the month. The auto companies usually maintain only a 60-day supply.
GM was backing Axle in imposing still more stringent demands than what had come before. “We got this and we want more!” It was to be the preparation for the next wave of attacks on auto workers at the Big 3 companies.
But the Axle workers were not ready to roll over and play dead. And the longer the strike went on, the less ready were active workers to give in: “No matter what we might lose by striking, if we accept the company’s offer, it would simply delay the point at which we lose everything anyway.”
By early April, GM itself may have been looking to bring the strike to an end. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger jumped on board, announcing plans for a rally in support of the strike to be held April 18 in downtown Detroit. But said Gettelfinger, “We’d like nothing better than to cancel our rally on April 18th because the strike was resolved by having a ratified contract.”
The UAW International did indeed cancel the April 18th rally, but not because a settlement was in hand. There was nothing that Axle proposed that workers were ready to accept. The cancellation of the rally set something else in motion. Activists at Axle and at other plants were pushing for a rally and some local union officials were ready to be part of organizing it, even to issue calls for other workers to come and to support the Axle workers.
Faced with that activity, the UAW International made another about-face, giving its approval to a new rally.
Activists who had pushed to get the rally, bringing other workers to it, were pumped up by the turn-out. They were not ready to give in to the demands of a tyrant like Dick Dauch, American Axle’s CEO, who made a point of announcing in the middle of the strike that he had paid himself 10 million dollars in salary and stock options the year before.
The company had to understand that the workers weren’t about to accept its demands. That’s when Axle stepped up its threats to take work overseas and to close plants.
At this point, the strike had become one of the longest UAW strikes in recent memory. Nonetheless, the International had made no move to increase strike pay – despite the fact that the UAW had amassed a strike fund of one billion dollars and despite the fact that a union convention years before had authorized them to double strike benefits in a difficult strike.
In fact, when other locals raised money to support the Axle strikers, they were told they had to turn the money into the strike fund. Some local union officials told workers wanting to support the strike they should contribute food, since money wouldn’t go to the strikers!
There certainly was support from other locals and other workers. There was a wide-spread understanding in local areas near Axle plants that the fight involved the whole working class.
To continue their fight, workers would have had to get outside the limited framework the union laid down. They would have had to organize their own meetings, to make their own decisions. They would have had to make it clear they wouldn’t be starved out – going to other workplaces, asking for support, financial and otherwise, calling not just to support their fight, but to join it. They would have needed to carry out demonstrations more widely.
This would have meant a big break with the policy of the leadership of the International. It has long been absolutely clear that the UAW leadership is not going to lead the kind of fight needed. It has been too much of a partner with the companies for anyone to believe it would fundamentally challenge the big auto companies and their suppliers.
There apparently weren’t enough people who understood the need and/or the possibility to make that break. Of course, there are no guarantees in a fight like this. But to continue, strikers needed another perspective.
Finally having upped the threats, Axle came in with an offer that was little better than its original offer. Workers saw no way to continue their fight.
It’s obvious that a strike like this might discourage workers at American Axle and other people who supported them. But that’s not the end of it. American Axle workers put all the companies on notice. Companies now know there is a price to pay, that workers will resist outrageous demands.
People tend to look at the strike wave of the 1930s as though it was a string of continuous victories. In fact, almost up to its culmination in 1937, there were many more defeated strikes than “victorious” ones. But what all those strikes did was to lay the groundwork for the vast wave of sit-downs that swept the country within a few months, changing the whole relationship of forces between the working class and the ruling class.
This strike, much like the Detroit newspaper strike of a generation earlier, trained a whole layer of workers who can better understand the policy of the top union leadership and the real relationship of forces. And like that generation of newspaper strikers, many may well go on to other workplaces where their experiences will be valuable.
After they catch their breath, the American Axle strikers may well play a role in the fights still to come. For we can be sure there will be more fights.
===========================================================================
http://the-spark.net/np826601.html
For 12 weeks and three days, American Axle workers carried out a determined strike. Nonetheless they finally accepted a contract containing deep cuts in wages and benefits little better than the company’s original offer.
Some people looking at the strike have said it is discouraging. Maybe, but there is a great deal more that should be said.
This strike was provoked by the outrageous demands of American Axle, a company that could not even claim to be in financial trouble. The company proposed to cut wages to $11.50 to $14.50 per hour, as opposed to the $17.50 to $28.15 per hour workers had been making. But the issue was never just Axle and its situation. This disgusting “offer” was part of an offensive being carried out by the whole auto industry, which was already marked by what had happened at Delphi and at the Big Three auto companies.
In those earlier contract talks, the companies were either in bankruptcy, threatening bankruptcy or declaring what bad shape they were in. But then came American Axle, which could not deny that it had made a profit of 37 million dollars the previous year. Nonetheless it proposed to carry the attacks against auto workers quite a bit further. While the earlier contracts imposed two-tier wages on new hires, American Axle’s was looking to slash wages on the entire workforce.
Certainly General Motors, American Axle’s main customer, was ready for a strike if it happened. It had prepared by increasing its production of trucks and SUVs in January, the month before the strike. It increased its inventories from around 100 days to about 150 days during the month. The auto companies usually maintain only a 60-day supply.
GM was backing Axle in imposing still more stringent demands than what had come before. “We got this and we want more!” It was to be the preparation for the next wave of attacks on auto workers at the Big 3 companies.
But the Axle workers were not ready to roll over and play dead. And the longer the strike went on, the less ready were active workers to give in: “No matter what we might lose by striking, if we accept the company’s offer, it would simply delay the point at which we lose everything anyway.”
By early April, GM itself may have been looking to bring the strike to an end. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger jumped on board, announcing plans for a rally in support of the strike to be held April 18 in downtown Detroit. But said Gettelfinger, “We’d like nothing better than to cancel our rally on April 18th because the strike was resolved by having a ratified contract.”
The UAW International did indeed cancel the April 18th rally, but not because a settlement was in hand. There was nothing that Axle proposed that workers were ready to accept. The cancellation of the rally set something else in motion. Activists at Axle and at other plants were pushing for a rally and some local union officials were ready to be part of organizing it, even to issue calls for other workers to come and to support the Axle workers.
Faced with that activity, the UAW International made another about-face, giving its approval to a new rally.
Activists who had pushed to get the rally, bringing other workers to it, were pumped up by the turn-out. They were not ready to give in to the demands of a tyrant like Dick Dauch, American Axle’s CEO, who made a point of announcing in the middle of the strike that he had paid himself 10 million dollars in salary and stock options the year before.
The company had to understand that the workers weren’t about to accept its demands. That’s when Axle stepped up its threats to take work overseas and to close plants.
At this point, the strike had become one of the longest UAW strikes in recent memory. Nonetheless, the International had made no move to increase strike pay – despite the fact that the UAW had amassed a strike fund of one billion dollars and despite the fact that a union convention years before had authorized them to double strike benefits in a difficult strike.
In fact, when other locals raised money to support the Axle strikers, they were told they had to turn the money into the strike fund. Some local union officials told workers wanting to support the strike they should contribute food, since money wouldn’t go to the strikers!
There certainly was support from other locals and other workers. There was a wide-spread understanding in local areas near Axle plants that the fight involved the whole working class.
To continue their fight, workers would have had to get outside the limited framework the union laid down. They would have had to organize their own meetings, to make their own decisions. They would have had to make it clear they wouldn’t be starved out – going to other workplaces, asking for support, financial and otherwise, calling not just to support their fight, but to join it. They would have needed to carry out demonstrations more widely.
This would have meant a big break with the policy of the leadership of the International. It has long been absolutely clear that the UAW leadership is not going to lead the kind of fight needed. It has been too much of a partner with the companies for anyone to believe it would fundamentally challenge the big auto companies and their suppliers.
There apparently weren’t enough people who understood the need and/or the possibility to make that break. Of course, there are no guarantees in a fight like this. But to continue, strikers needed another perspective.
Finally having upped the threats, Axle came in with an offer that was little better than its original offer. Workers saw no way to continue their fight.
It’s obvious that a strike like this might discourage workers at American Axle and other people who supported them. But that’s not the end of it. American Axle workers put all the companies on notice. Companies now know there is a price to pay, that workers will resist outrageous demands.
People tend to look at the strike wave of the 1930s as though it was a string of continuous victories. In fact, almost up to its culmination in 1937, there were many more defeated strikes than “victorious” ones. But what all those strikes did was to lay the groundwork for the vast wave of sit-downs that swept the country within a few months, changing the whole relationship of forces between the working class and the ruling class.
This strike, much like the Detroit newspaper strike of a generation earlier, trained a whole layer of workers who can better understand the policy of the top union leadership and the real relationship of forces. And like that generation of newspaper strikers, many may well go on to other workplaces where their experiences will be valuable.
After they catch their breath, the American Axle strikers may well play a role in the fights still to come. For we can be sure there will be more fights.
===========================================================================
----- Original Message ----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:55:36 PM
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:55:36 PM
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Again, independent action against one foe. Although the workers were on strike due to unfair labor practices, no one protested the fact that Ronald Gettelfinger and the UAW were violating the workers’ rights under the UAW constitution.
The simple fact is, the UAW assisted American Axle, as they have assisted the others in Detroit in lowering wages, benefits, and working conditions in direct violation of the UAW constitution. Although Wendy was very vocal about the injustices committed by American Axle, she failed to speak out against the injustices committed against the workers by the UAW. That too is now history.
You will never solve a problem by attacking only half of it. It’s unfortunate that Wendy and others, failed to see that. The strike needed to be more about what the United Auto Workers Bureaucracy has done to the workers they are paid cash money to support than looking for a greedy company and megalomaniac like Dick Dauch to throw them a bone.
To AAM’s credit, they were honest about their intentions long before the contract was up and never wavered from their stated purpose. On the other hand, the UAW gave away the store in the first couple weeks, and continued to give until there was nothing left. People were conned into selling their jobs for what amounts to pennies. As in Buffalo, NY, most of those workers will peel through that 18 months of salary pretty quickly. For the rest, there’s nothing left to look forward to other than a life of poverty. That’s not what workers paid the UAW for, that’s not in keeping with the word and spirit of the UAW Constitution.
Although the old GM people always had that fighting spirit, I always had a couple issues with them. First, most of the ones I knew were rabidly loyal to the UAW. Second, most were eligible for retirement and still had a rather cushy GM pension to look forward to, which meant they didn’t have as much to lose as the AAM Workers.
While I find it admirable that you stand up for your friend Wendy, maybe you should look at it from the point of view of the people who lost everything and not as someone unaffected by what happened. Keep on marching to the tune of the old blue and gold because their not done yet. Blame everyone and everything except the UAW. That’s how the US Auto Industry has been decimated. That’s what they are banking on.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Pete
Bennett
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 9:25 AM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
There was also independent action in Three Rivers daily for months at a warehouse storing AAM parts made by supervisors and at an aam scab recruiting site in Kalamazoo as well as by dozens of local citizens and businesses. As for Wendy, not only did she lead independent actions,along with Diane, Wendy got arrested here in Three Rivers for her efforts. When one casts aspersions on Wendy Thompson without first hand knowledge of her record of self-sacrifice to members, those who are familiar with her history can't help but question the motives and intellect of he who casts the stones. Back the truck up sir, you clearly do not know the whole story of what went down in Michigan in the short or long term past. Pete Bennett Three Rivers.
----- Original Message -----
From:wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:27 AM
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
On this I agree with you.
They voted yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
No independent action? Wrong. 2 informational picket lines where scab parts were being delivered. I do not appreciate your slanderous remark that I show blind faith towards the International Union. Respect my right to disagree with you about a picket line at Solidarity House without feeling that you have to slam me for it. I have been respectful towards you. I insist upon respect in return.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups.c om
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 8:24 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
The only disconnect is between you and the reality of what happened. What transpired was an exact duplicate of what happened at the Buffalo Plant. They followed the same strategy and used the same tactics and again were very successful. The rallying around the Union Flag, the demoralization was part of the plan. You yourself refused to take any independent action, so how could we expect anyone else to? Actually, the insistence of the rank & file to follow the UAW off a cliff is the most baffling thing I have ever seen or heard of. I think only you can tell us why you refused to take any action against the UAW even though you knew full well that they we’re violating workers rights under the UAW constitution.
How many informational pickets did you try to organize in front of Squalid House or the local Union headquarters? The fact is that the UAW was just as active in destroying the workers lives as American Axle was. Although you chose to ignore that fact, the workers didn’t. They vot ed yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
The UAW and its Auto Industry partners aren’t done yet. Look for them to use the same strategy and tactics to dissolve anything that may be left. As long as there are people like you that continue to put their blind faith in them, they’ll continue to suck every last bit of energy and life out of the members.
From:american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 6:42 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
There was a disconnect between the vote and what occurred during the strike. I am referring to the plant gate collection of $700 for Shifting Gears before the strike, the militancy on the picket lines – certainly in Detroit and Three Rivers, the spontaneous support from other unionists, the informational picket lines not sanctioned by the International at 3 Rivers, the rally at the AAM headquarters which only happened because of membership action of Local 235.
As time dragged on demoralization grew due to lack of initiative by the International and yes a lack of a willingness on the part of the rank and file to take independent action.
Shifting Gears called for several information picket lines in Detroit and the turn-out was very small. The membership did not understand the importance of their own independent action and could not understand t he lack of action by the International. Remember L. 235 did not blindly follow the lead of the International last contract. But, it did not make sense to them for the International to call a strike this time and then not proceed to try to win it.
wthom...@aol.com
Jul 27, 2008, 4:35:43 PM7/27/08
to american-a...@googlegroups.com
The Three Rivers example shows clearly how successful independent action by the rank and file can be!
During a strike, it will mean a loss for sure if you do not focus on fighting the company. There is only one way to deal with a sell out leadership at that time: carrying out actions independently that help defeat the company, and vote a rotten contract down. If the membership does not do these two things, they will get sold out. If they allow a sell-out leadership to be elected at the UAW convention, they are asking for trouble when it comes to contract negotiations and going on strike. Yet, once the leadership is in place the membership must push them and not sit back and say nothing for their entire term, offering no solutions for defeating the company during a strike.
During a strike, it will mean a loss for sure if you do not focus on fighting the company. There is only one way to deal with a sell out leadership at that time: carrying out actions independently that help defeat the company, and vote a rotten contract down. If the membership does not do these two things, they will get sold out. If they allow a sell-out leadership to be elected at the UAW convention, they are asking for trouble when it comes to contract negotiations and going on strike. Yet, once the leadership is in place the membership must push them and not sit back and say nothing for their entire term, offering no solutions for defeating the company during a strike.
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:55 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:55 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Again, independent action against one foe. Although the workers were on strike due to unfair labor practices, no one protested the fact that Ronald Gettelfinger and the UAW were violating the workers’ rights under the UAW constitution.
The simple fact is, the UAW assisted American Axle, as they have assisted the others in
Detroit in lowering wages, benefits, and working conditions in direct violation of the UAW constitution. Although Wendy was very vocal about the injustices committed by American Axle, she failed to speak out against the injustices committed against the workers by the UAW. That too is now history.
You will never solve a problem by attacking only half of it. It’s unfortunate that Wendy and others, failed to see that. The strike needed to be more about what the United Auto Workers Bureaucracy has done to the workers they are paid cash money to support than looking for a greedy company and megalomaniac like Dick Dauch to throw them a bone.
To AAM’s credit, they were honest about their intentions long before the contract was up and never wavered from their stated purpose. On the other hand, the UAW gave away the store in the first couple weeks, and continued to give until there was nothing left. People were conned into selling their jobs for what amounts to pennies. As in Buffalo, NY, most of those workers will peel through that 18 months=2
0of salary pretty quickly. For the rest, there’s nothing left to look forward to other than a life of poverty. That’s not what workers paid the UAW for, that’s not in keeping with the word and spirit of the UAW Constitution.
Although the old GM people always had that fighting spirit, I always had a couple issues with them. First, most of the ones I knew were rabidly loyal to the UAW. Second, most were eligible for retirement and still had a rather cushy GM pension to look forward to, which meant they didn’t have as much to lose as the AAM Workers.
While I find it admirable that you stand up for your friend Wendy, maybe you should look at it from the point of view of the people who lost everything and not as someone unaffected by what happened. Keep on marching to the tune of the old blue and gold because their not done yet. Blame everyone and everything except the UAW. That’s how the US Auto Industry has been decimated. That’s what they are banking on.
From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Pete Bennett
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 9:25 AM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 9:25 AM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
There was also independent action in Three Rivers daily for months at a warehouse storing AAM parts made by supervisors and at an aam scab recruiting site in Kalamazoo as well as by dozens of local citizens and businesses. As for Wendy, not only did she lead independent actions,along with Diane, Wendy got arrested here in Three Rivers for her efforts. When one casts aspersions on Wendy Thompson without first hand knowledge of her record of self-sacrifice to member
s, those who are familiar with her history can't help but question the motives and intellect of he who casts the stones. Back the truck up sir, you clearly do not know the whole story of what went down in Michigan in the short or long term past. Pete Bennett Three Rivers.
----- Original Message -----From: wthom...@aol.comSent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:27 AMSubject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?On this I agree with you.They voted yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.
No independent action? Wrong. 2 informational picket lines where scab parts were being delivered. I do not appreciate your slanderous remark that I show blind faith towards the International Union. Respect my right to disagree with you about a picket line at Solidarity House without feeling that you have to slam me for it. I have been respectful towards you. I insist upon respect in return.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups.c om
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 8:24 pm
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
The only disconnect is between you and the reality of what happened. What transpired was an exact20duplicate of what happened at the Buffalo Plant. They followed the same strategy and used the same tactics and again were very successful. The rallying around the Union Flag, the demoralization was part of the plan. You yourself refused to take any independent action, so how could we expect anyone else to? Actually, the insistence of the rank & file to follow the UAW off a cliff is the most baffling thing I have ever seen or heard of. I think only you can tell us why you refused to take any action against the UAW even though you knew full well that they we’re violating workers rights under the UAW constitution.How many informational pickets did you try to organize in front of Squalid House or the local Union headquarters? The fact is that the UAW was just as active in destroying the workers lives as American Axle was. Although you chose to ignore that fact, the workers didn’t. They vot ed yes because they knew they had no support from the UAW. They just wanted it over and they just wanted out.The UAW and its Auto Industry partners aren’t done yet. Look for them to use the same strategy and tactics to dissolve anything that may be left. As long as there are people like you that continue to put their blind faith in them, they’ll continue to suck every last bit of energy and life out of the members.From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 6:42 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
There was a disconnect between the vote and what occurred during the strike. I am referring to the plant gate collect ion of $700 for Shifting Gears before the strike, the militancy on the picket lines – certainly in Detroit and Three Rivers, the spontaneous support from other unionists, the informational picket lines not sanctioned by the International at 3 Rivers, the rally at the AAM headquarters which only happened because of membership action of Local 235.
As time dragged on demoralization grew due to lack of initiative by the International and yes a lack of a willingness on the part of the rank and file to take independent action.Shifting Gears called for several information picket lines in Detroit and the turn-out was very small. The membership did not understand the importance of their own independent action and could not understand t he lack of action by the International. Remember L. 235 did not blindly follow the lead of the International last contract. But, it did not make sense to them for the International to call a strike this time and then not proceed to try to win it.
In no way shape or form did the yes vote mean the members supported the contract or the International. It did mean th ey had given up and had no faith a no vote would change anything. The big error the membership continues to make as it has in the past is in not being willing to take the lead with their own self activity. The tendancy is to wait for someone to do it for them. This idea of business or service unionism must be overcome for us to make advances. The right lessons can be learned from a defeat as well as a victory if people are willing to listen. It doesn’t help if rank and file leaders cease in giving encouragement. This we must do. But we can’t do it for the people, the people must do it for themselves.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Overfield <in...@ny-biker.com>
To: american-axle-workers@googlegroups .com
Sent: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 8:32 am
Subject: RE: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
Wendy,“Most of the workers wanted to fight”…??? What are you smoking? Most of the workers voted yes without a hint of fight. They did what the UAW told them to do like good little sheep because they trusted the UAW to take care of them, because people like you gave them the false hope that, that’s what would happen. Until workers realize that the UAW is just as big an enemy as greedy management, nothing can change.From: american-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:american-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of wthom...@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:51 PM
To: american-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: What Went Wrong in the American Axle Strike?
0A
Analyzing the AAM strike is important. Tony does not give any credence to a militancy that did exist among the rank and file before the strike. The AAM UAW members did want to fight and this in turn did put pressure on the UAW leadership. It was by far harder to push concessions on workers of a corporation that was profitable. It was the rank and file that got the UAW to call a strike on this basis.Further, it had been the Chrysler workers who had made this point after the GM and Ford contracts were reopened midstream a few years ago. There was no reopening for them on that basis and the same for American Axle. It’s not helpful for us as rank and file workers to put ourselves down when in fact our actions do make a difference.
Sure, the UAW leadership is=2 0now saying the strike could not be won and that raises the legitimate question of why then did they recommend going on strike in the first place! However, the fact is the strike could have been won and this is what the article is trying to address: how. If the rank and file feels the strike would have been lost even if you had top notch leadership, then that would make the leadership question moot.
I agree with Tony that in fact the loss of the strike was due to leadership20unwilling to fight. What do we do about that? Do we abandon unions altogether? Do we recommend another union and if so which one? Tony does not explain what he means by “working outside” the UAW. Where does he point to for advancing our cause? I don’t see anything happening “outside” quite honestly and do not find his solution very concrete or viable.
As difficult as it is reforming the UAW – I have spent2036 years trying – I just don’t see an alternative. You have similar efforts going on in the Teamsters and SEIU. Most of the other unions need reform movements too but don’t even have the history of rank and file struggle we do. Wherever you are you must start with the seeds of discontent that exist and build from there.
July 2 2008< /TT>
< PRE style="BACKGROUND: white">the workplace, shop floor actions, media blitzes, working-to-rule,
0D
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