On Saturday, November 2 the over 220 workers of the
Carley Foundry went out on strike. The
union and company had been engaged in bitter contract negotiations prior to the
strike, largely as a result of the company’s insistence on setting up a two
tier wage system where new hires would be paid less, and would never reach the
wage levels of those who had come before them.
The worker rightly rejected this reactionary measure, and instead went
out on an unfair labor practices strike.
Carley Foundry is located in Blaine, MN and makes, among
other things, parts for the aerospace industry.
The workers there are represented by United Steelworkers Local 63B. Workers have been walking the picket lines
every day since the strike began, shutting down almost all of the work at the
facility.
In an attempt to give a boost to the morale of the
strikers, and to show Carley Foundry the breath of support that the workers
have, a united front rally was called on November 8. Almost 300 workers from two dozen unions
attended, along with a number of community activists and supporters of
Socialist Resurgence.
Following this dramatic display of solidarity, the union
Negotiating Committee went back to the table on Nov. 12. However, Carley Foundry refused to withdraw
it’s proposal for a two tier wage scheme.
The following day the workers voted to again reject the company’s offer,
and to instead continue the strike.
We support these brave striking workers, who despite
company intransigence and bitter cold temperatures, continue to picket and keep
the foundry shut down. We call on all of
our readers to support the strike in any way that they can. You can follow the strike, and find ways of
supporting it on the union’s facebook page:
www.facebook.com/gmp63b/
>> The article above was written by Adam Ritscher.
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