One of the few after-effects of my father’s stroke in the mid 1990s was the loss of his verbal filter. At times it could be funny, a curse word blurted out at an inappropriate time. Other times it could be hurtful, my niece’s husband of Japanese descent taking the brunt of my dad’s rant about serving in the Pacific during World War II. Then there were the times dad would see non-union workers working in union jobs.
After my dad’s stroke my mom, with the aid of the family doctor, put my dad on a strict diet. Let me tell you, there is nothing sadder than a 70-something year old man eating rice cakes. Now, my dad was not a fan of the rice cake and peanut butter lunch that he was supposed to eat. As mom worked during the day dad would call me up where I work and say, “Take me out to lunch,” which meant that I was taking dad to Tumbleweed’s for a bacon double cheeseburger whether I wanted to or not.
On one of the occasions that I took my dad to lunch we had to drive through a road construction site. As we were sitting at a stoplight we saw a Lycon cement truck. Lycon had been in a lengthy battle with Teamsters Local 695, my dad’s local, and they had replaced all of their union employees with scabs. My dad, with no filter and being a proud member of Teamsters Local 695, rolled down his window and at the top of his lungs bellowed out, “SCABS!” Now this was a lengthy construction site and my dad kept his window down and yelled “SCAB” at every Lycon truck he saw.
You may wonder why I brought this story of my father up—well, the reason is because Wisconsin's Manitowoc Crane has decided to bring in SCABS to replace the members of the International Association of Machinists District 10 Local 516 during their three week strike, and to make it worse, in addition to bringing in SCABS, Manitowoc Crane is pitting union against union:
A Manitowoc Cranes news release issued Tuesday stated the company will begin recalling 37 members of the Boilermakers union laid off Nov. 18 as a result of the strike by the Machinists local with nearly 200 members.
The Weyers letter indicated the first 12 laid-off Boilermakers will be back at work Thursday with an additional 25 returning Monday. That would leave 119 Boilermakers still on layoff.
The strike against Manitowoc Crane is not about wages. The union members have been offered a pretty decent package of wages and benefits. That is not the problem; at issue is the union busting language, a la Scott Walker, that Manitowoc Crane has inserted into the contract.
Ben Elizondo, International Association of Machinists District 10 business representative, said:
Payment of dues would no longer be required when working at Cranes.
Wayne Bunch is serving as lead negotiator for Manitowoc Cranes and that "part of his resume" is working for companies seeking to create "union-free work environments."
Solidarity!
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has scheduled a solidarity rally this to support the striking Manitowoc Crane workers for Saturday, December 10 at the Municipal Baseball Field at 2200 Grand Ave, Manitowoc, WI 54220
Ave.
I may have to drive past Manitowoc Crane and roll down my window and yell, "SCAB," as I drive by.