Statement By Local 585
INTERNATIONAL CHEMICAL WORKERS UNION, AFL
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In The Scout of last week there was a full
page statement headlined "Here Is Our Story"
that was written by The Hitchcock Corporation
and Minerals-Metals Corporation.
The company stated that there were no lay
offs, no reduction in hours, continued overtime
pay, favorable working conditions, favorable
pay scale and many fringe benefits. They also
stated that this has been carried out, even
though their sales have dropped.
The union will attempt, in this statement,
to tell you (the people of Cherokee County) the
true facts behind the companies' statement.
In regard to the Companies' statement to no
reduction in hours, that is one of the major issues
of our dispute. The story behind this issue is, the
company is working one shift (lxh hours daily)
so that they might work these employees two
hours on Saturday to avoid payment of over
time for these two hours. The union has request
ed, through negotiations, that these employees
involved in a 1xk hour work day, be treated the
same as other employees. The company has re
peatedly denied the relief sought by the union
in this matter.
Now, the question arises of working condi
tions which the company has used the word
"FAVORABLE", in the full page ad.
The word favorable, in our opinion, is a
miscarriage of justice. We have em
ployees working underground from three or four
hundred feet, who are not furnished adequate
protective clothing to perform their duties. For
example, some of them have to work in water
that comes through the holes of their boots
that the company has refused to repair or
replace.
If a man has to go below the earth and work
in water up to their knees for $125 per hour, is
that a fair price paid for their labor?
Female employees who have to toil and
sweat under the conditions that exet in the
Minerals & Metals Corporation and The Hitch
cock Corporation, it would be more appro
priate to say that in these two plants, the rate
is one dollar per hour, and this dollar is guaran
teed under the Federal Wage and Hour Law.
This strike, called by Local 585 is certainly
not an economic strike as quoted by the comp
any. It was called because the company has re
peatedly refused to bargain collectively and in
good faith in accordance with the National
Labor Relations Act
The union asks for these in negotiations:
Improved vacations; an eight-hour work day for
all employees; three additional holidays; a rea
sonable increase in wages and check-off of union
dues which doesn't cost the company a penny.
The company has refused to bargain col
lectively which we are assured under the Federal
Law on any of the above issues.
When the company refused to entertain any
of the unions requests, the union, in order to
avoid any strike asked the company to submit
these issues to an arbitrator or a three man
panel to evaluate and make recommendations
to the union's proposals.
After these proposals were turned down by
the company, we proposed that the present con
tract be extended an additional six months and
even this was denied and we were forced, with
out a contract, to strike the company.
The union has conducted itself as set forth
by the National Labor Relations Act and will
continue to do so until these issues are settled
by negotiations between the union and the
company. j
LOCAL 585
Negotiating Committee