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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2004RMS strike no gameMemphis, Tenn.--We’re from the RMS Equipment Company in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. We are members of United Steelworkers Local 80. We’ve been out on strike since May 14, 2001. We make the machines that build the tires for Goodyear, Michelin, Cooper Tire, and other tire companies. The last time we met with the company for negotiations was Sept. 27, 2001. The company came demanding concessions: they wanted a $3-$5 cut in pay; they wanted to get rid of language in our contract that was union-oriented; they wanted to replace Veterans' Day with a floater because it was more convenient for them than during the week. As far as we were concerned, that was a sacred cow that was not going to be removed. They also wanted to contract out goods and services whenever they deemed necessary. RMS made an alliance with a Chinese company and 50% of the work went over to China. We were informed of this two weeks into the strike. It was obvious they had planned this at least six months in advance, before we had even started to negotiate. They’re still making machinery with the salaried people and the engineers. We’re here in Memphis because Michael Heisley is the owner of our company and the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. We traveled 18 hours and over 1,000 miles to get here, so we could let fans coming to the Grizzlies game know about Michael Heisley and our struggle at the RMS Equipment Company. We’ve gotten a lot of support from local people and from the Ontario Federation of Labor. The Steelworkers have been supplying us with a strike fund, so we’ve been able to manage. We’re not getting the same money by any means, but no one has lost a home, no one has lost a vehicle. When people can’t make a payment, we make sure they’re not in difficulty. We’ve been getting food baskets from some organizations and gift certificates. So we’ve been very lucky with the support we’ve received. If people want to send us donations, our office address is: 141 King Street East, Kitchener A2G2K8, Ontario, Canada. People can address mail or letters of support to Peter Cook, president of the local. Michael Heisley is not going to beat us. We made a commitment to see this through to the end and that’s what we’re going to do. When they demanded concessions, they were trying to break the union, trying to crush us. This is our third winter, our third Christmas, and we’ve shown we’re not just going to walk away. --Peter Cook |
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