MascoTech Layoffs Loyal Workers/WW Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the October 9, 1997 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- FRASER, MICHIGAN: MASCOTECH REWARDS WORKER LOYALTY WITH LAYOFFS By Bev Bloedel Detroit After eight weeks of a strike at MascoTech in Fraser, Mich., by 95 members of Local 155 of the Auto Workers, there are still no negotiations. Some of the strikers have been faithful workers for up to 40 years. MascoTech, a company with plants nationwide, makes parts for Ford and Chrysler. The strike started Aug. 1after the company told the workers that half of them would be laid off and the rest would have to qualify for work by testing. Those who passed the test would be required to attend classes two days a week as well as keep up their regular 10- to 12-hour shifts. They would also have to work two mandatory Saturdays and Sundays a month. Union-busting tactics had started with the appearance of a new vice president three years ago. Virginia, Ina and Dorothy have worked at MascoTech for 24 years. They say they remember when the company treated them with fairness and respect. All three women raised their children while working there, getting a good wage and decent working conditions. Now things are different. Dorothy said she used to work 10 hours a day and eight on Saturdays, but "now they want us to work 12." Ina said that no matter how good production is, the company does not appreciate the workers. MascoTech is not interested in workers or their safety. One worker sprayed the floor with a chemical to mop up oil, but the company made it more dangerous by laying a pad on the floor. Fumes and loud noise made the workers ill but when they filed a grievance the company said all the tests came back negative. The company removed the union steward's desk, making it difficult to hear and write grievances. Wages are also under attack. Mark, a young worker with 10 years of service, said the company offer included an 85-cent raise over four years. But the money would be taken from the quarterly production bonus the workers get. "I believed in the `American dream,'" said Maxie, who has been at MascoTech for 24 years. "I thought I would provide loyal service and they would provide me with the necessities I would need for life." Now his dream is threatened by this union-busting company. As if life on the picket line is not bad enough, the strikers must put up with abusive guards. Twice recently, guards scratched, punched and ripped the clothes of strikers. Strikers were taken to jail for defending themselves. Locked-out Detroit newspaper workers have been among the most active supporters of the MascoTech strikers. Workers at MascoTech as well as the Detroit News/Free Press workers have no choice but to continue to fight the bosses, who carry out layoffs, firings and plant closings without a thought for the lives they are ruining. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://workers.org) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytlab-10.04.97-15:03:54-10833