We used to make a locomotive from pretty close to scratch. We printed our own PCBs, had our own foundry, powerhouse, waste treatment, fire engine, ambulance, and manufacturing training programs. We draw or roll our own copper wire for motors and alternators, we had a forging shop, and all our steel came in on railcars as plate and standard shapes of bar stock. We were a manufacturing metropolis. At the medical center, the company doctors worked out of a well stocked mini hospital. The company material and processes lab was staffed with metallurgists, chemists, machinists, lab techs and the other disciplines of science that were need to make it self sufficient.
Some things were purchased complete. Bearings, wheels, standard copper wire, hardware, and the glass windows, some few other components, things that require specialized machinery to make, would be delivered instead of made. And tri-axle after tri-axle of coal, for the powerhouse.
But time went by, and the drive to cut costs quarter after quarter, year after year, and decade after decade lead to increased outsourcing. NAFTA did not help. And while we were one of the few businesses GE had that survived Neutron Jack, his "factories on a barge to allow easy movement to the lowest cost labor markets" comment lit the future with the light generated by a job loss conflagration.
My Local formed a "Job Preservation Steering Committee," and used our greater knowledge of the product and processes to be able to realize serious cost improvements of work being shopped for outsourcing as well as pointing out errors and omissions in cost comparisons of our costs versus outsourced materials. It worked so well that our program was used as a model for inclusion in a National Contract for all shops through the CBC (coordinated bargaining committee of 14(?) different Unions).
Then comes the Great Recession. In February of 2009, the first WARN Act notice of 200 permanent lay offs was announced. Employment numbers for the hourly workforce were around 2900. I am a Union Steward with about 20 years of service, but most of the people I represented were very low service. When the bumping finally settled out, 22 of my people were among the 200. The day the final notices were issued to those losing their jobs was the worst day of my life as a Steward. But as bad as it was for me, my people were losing their jobs. Any one of them would have been happy to trade places with me.
Their last day was Holy Thursday, or the day before Good Friday. Happy Easter, you are out of here. I told all my people, both those going and those staying, that I was going across the street from the plant after work to one of the bars that employees frequent. I asked them to join me, to say goodbye and good luck to those laid off. I also promised to buy a drink for every laid off Union sister or brother that showed up.
At the bar, I promised each and every one of them that I would continue to refuse all overtime offered me until they ALL were recalled. Some thanked me for my promise, some laughed because they did not believe me, and some were past caring about anything to do with promises from anyone about being recalled. And I bought a lot of drinks.
I was proud to see so many of my laid off people to continue to come to the monthly Union meetings, month after month. Our Union dues are a quarter ($0.25) a month for those that are on a permanent lay off. I told each to keep up on the dues, to retain their voting privileges. The most important thing a member has is the power to decide with their votes. We are totally rank and file.
In September of 2009, the second WARN Act notice was issued for another 1500 or so of us to be permanently laid off. Because of the magnitude of the first blood letting in my area, I had many fewer lay off notification meetings to go to as the Union rep in these individual and private notifications.
Their last day was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving, don't let the door hit you in the ass. Same offer from me, same bar, same promise to each, same variety of reactions. And the Local applied for TAA benefits, even though the company denied that all that work being done in China and other non domestic locations cost us jobs.
We were denied, appealed, denied, appealed, and denied again. But we all knew were the work we used to do was being done. Hell, our people unloaded the trucks and signed for the shipments. After our second appeal was denied, we were presented with a choice. Drop the TAA request, or fight it in court. The lawyer estimated that the costs of researching and building a case for that would cost the Local around $25,000.
While the membership overwhelmingly approved the expense, those that had paid their quarter a month had a say in spending the money to move this forward. We were told that we could help our case if we could provide documentation of the magnitude of the work no longer done here and the locations of the plants sending in the outsourced work. The membership gathered 13000 documents with this info.
And we (surprising many with experience pursuing these cases) won. TAA benefits provide for (I think) 2 years of unemployment and retraining/schooling. A godsend to those members with no job recall in sight. Since then, the company has recalled all those with "normal" recall rights. That would be all those laid off in the second round and about half of those from the first round.
In our contract, we have a provision that allows for a senior employee with the same job class and pay rate to take an early retirement if they meet the age and service requirements. About 550 of those able to "save a job" did, and so the number that ended up actually out the gate was about 1050 to 1100 or so. and all but 80 have normal recall rights. A significant number of those 80 are still my people, from the first lay off.
Some of those still go to the Union meetings. And every time I see them they ask me how things are looking for them. We talk, and hope, together. And everyone of them now believes me and knows with the certainty of daily sunrise that until they are recalled, I still will not work overtime, and it has been over two years. But then, a leader should be walking the walk, not just talking the talk.
Or, as the Army ROTC motto says, "Follow Me!"
Update: All my Union Sisters and Brothers have been recalled, and new employees hired. I am thrilled to see them back and new members coming to work