Posted on 06/21/2003 3:41:50 PM PDT by Perseverando
Thursday, June 19, 2003
'Right now, the company is working some of the people six and seven days a week'
Union members at ITT seek change in overtime policy
By DUNCAN ADAMS
THE ROANOKE TIMES
A mandatory overtime policy sent union officials and ITT Night Vision management to the negotiating table last month.
During the famous "Bread and Roses" strike in 1912, textile workers in Lawrence, Mass., fought both for increased pay and a chance to enjoy the finer things of life. More than 90 years later, union members at ITT Night Vision in Roanoke County are prepared to walk off the job this weekend. And one big bone of contention for the union addresses a required overtime practice it says keeps workers from the people that matter most - their families.
"Right now, the company is working some of the people six and seven days a week, on mandatory overtime," said Jeff Moran, chief steward and arbitration coordinator for Local 162 of the International Union of Electronic/Communications Workers of America.
"It leaves no time with your family," he said. "You can't even watch your child's T-ball game."
The four-year contract for IUE-CWA Local 162 expires at midnight Friday. Negotiations between union officials and management began early last month, Moran said. Local 162 has about 580 members at ITT Night Vision. Moran and Mitchell "Red" Adams, administrative steward, said more than 90 percent of the members who voted recently approved a strike if management won't budge on the overtime policy and other issues on the bargaining table, including health insurance coverage and pension worries.
Work conditions, benefits and pay at ITT Night Vision are a far cry from what textile workers endured in the early 20th century. Moran and Adams readily admit that, when compared to many other local workers in the manufacturing sector, hourly employees at ITT are well paid, averaging about $14 or $15 an hour, they said.
But they said their pay has been hard won through negotiation. And they argue ITT is prospering because global forces, including terrorism and war, have created huge demand for ITT Night Vision's celebrated goggles and related gear that help soldiers, border patrol officers and police officers see in the dark. Union members simply want to share in that prosperity, said Moran, and not face management demands for concessions that include surrendering two personal days and health care coverage changes that will cost workers more.
"You would expect these kinds of negotiating tactics when the company isn't doing well but not when it seems to be prospering," Moran said.
Laurel Holder, a spokeswoman for ITT Night Vision, said the company "cannot begin to address the union's issues, point by point, in the media while negotiations are ongoing." Holder released instead a brief company statement that included the following: "We trust that the company and the union will successfully resolve the issues being negotiated, thereby reaching a mutually acceptable agreement by the time the labor contract expires June 21."
On Wednesday evening, Moran was less optimistic. He said negotiations during the day broke down after about an hour.
"We're not even close," he said. "We can't even get close."
Moran said the union's contract with ITT Night Vision includes a provision for overtime that IUE-CWA could support. That schedule calls for four 12-hour shifts and allows employees to take regular days off.
"We're not looking to shut the company down, but what we do need is time with our family," Moran said.
He said union members have worked long hours without complaining because of their commitment to providing a steady supply of night - vision devices to troops overseas.
"We are obligated morally and ethically to make sure our troops are supplied with our goggles," he said. "At the same time, there is life outside of ITT."
Somehow I am reminded of JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
"You would expect these kinds of negotiating tactics when the company isn't doing well but not when it seems to be prospering," Moran said.
Hasn't anyone heard that there's a war on terror going on?
These people are commies, the UE reserected. In the 40's the IUE was formed when the Workers revolted against communist domination looks like he Socalist Workers Party. won after all, thank you Keven Marr and the rest of you commie A$$holes.
I'm so sick of the "war on terror" being used as an excuse for ... everything.
The "war on terror" is the new "for the children." Five years ago, everything, from environmental policy to workplace regulations, was "for the children." Now, everything is for the "war on terror."
No, there's no "war on terror." Terrorists are criminals, and there have always been criminals. It's no reason for everyone to stop doing business as usual, and that include labor unions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.