issue #38 of The Barking Dog

, put out by Caroline Lund, a member of UAW Local 2244 at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA. It is dated July 9, 2001.

Unite Against Overloaded Jobs!

At the last two Local 2244 Membership Meetings, Chairman Art Torres has recognized that the biggest issue in our plant is overloaded jobs. This leads inevitably to safety problems, injuries, and quality problems.
Art said if your Team agrees that a job is overloaded, call your Committeeperson, work at a normal pace, and stop the line when necessary for quality. He said it's not our fault if quality is going to hell; it is the fault of the standardized work being too tight.
Furthermore, he said if your Group Leader wants to write down every time you go on a bathroom break, that is harassment, and Team Leaders should not participate in it.

So, let's take Art at his word and get our union behind us in fighting overloaded jobs!

Caroline Lund

    
Voices From the Shop Floor

In Plastics-Paint side and Mold side-we've been going through a lot of changes, mainly management trying to add work and eliminate jobs. (So what else is new, you're asking.)
On the Paint side, all night-shift and day-shift workers signed a SCAR form documenting how the Load job was unsafe. Nothing was done about it except we were asked to hold out till after the July 4 week, and then we would get more manpower to help with that job.
Then a member of our Group found a document in the trash which showed that the Project Team and management were actually planning to "combine jobs" and not add any manpower at all.
Meanwhile, we're working 9.5 and 10 hours plus two Saturdays this month. And the recent reorganization of jobs has led not to increased efficiency but to mountains of scrap bumpers.

Here are some comments on a typical, frustrating day on the job:

Danny: When I was on the Motor Line we had a really tough bunch of people. We didn't let management get away with adding work to any jobs.
It's not enough to have three or four people who are ready to stick together. You've got to have everybody in the Group stick together.
All 3 of us Team Leaders on the Motor Line were strong against unsafely adding work to jobs. We would encourage our T/Ms not to rush, to stop the line when necessary, and not to give in. Safety was #1 for us.
We're dealing with some Group Leaders and other management people who are uneducated kiss-butts. I'm a fair person, and I don't want to put anyone down, but I do believe in telling the truth.
Many G/Ls try to act like they're better than us, but the truth is that they just have to do what they're told, they know the company owns them.
They tell us one thing, then do something else. Look at what we found out from that paper in the garbage. They were telling us we were getting another person when the truth was they were putting more work on us.
They tell us safety is #1, but then they ask people to work double shifts to make up for absentees. Sure, they say these are volunteers, but management asks them to work double shifts. Clearly the company doesn't care if these people get home safely after working over 16 hours. If the Mercury News found out about the double shifts, this company would be in big trouble. They contradict the fact that safety should be #1.

Tony: NUMMI says safety is #1. So why isn't the Safety Department involved from the beginning when the Project Team plans all these job changes that are taking place?
I asked this question to an Assistant Manager here in Plastics, and he had no answer for me.

Jaime: The Project Team management is doing the same thing on the Mold side as they are here on the Paint side. They're proposing that one T/M do the work that more than one T/M used to do.
The only way you can stop these people is to work at a normal pace and stop the line when you need to. All of us together.

Todd: My concern is that there is no Standardized Work. The Standardized Work chart they put up for the Load job (before the changes) wasn't signed off by anybody. The Project Team claimed production people had done the time studies, but production management said the Project Team had done it.
They want us to do new jobs without even showing that there is enough time to do the added work.

Finger-Pointing

On May 31 we got a flyer from NUMMI Vice-President Jesse Wingard, blaming NUMMI workers for not "meeting our basic responsibilities" for achieving a quality product. He said that 40% of cars and 60% of trucks need repairs before going out the door, and that 10% still come back from customers because of bad quality.
This flyer generated a lot of discussion and backlash from insulted employees. Here is one contribution sent to The Barking Dog:

My Viewpoint

As we draw near to contract negotiations, I'm seeing much finger-pointing. I was taught by my mother that when you point a finger at someone, three are pointing back at you.
Team members are being blamed for not meeting quotas and quality. The three fingers pointing back at management are:
1) poorly trained new-hires; 2) speeding up the line and assigning more work; 3) ten-hour work days at six days a week.
Let's stop playing the blame game and begin to work together for we have one common goal: to be No. 1 in automobile manufacturing.

Team Member J.V.G.

Union Vote at Toyota Canada

On July 6, workers at Toyota's assembly plant in Ontario, Canada voted on whether or not to be represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union. Results of the vote won't be known until July 31 at the earliest. The Barking Dog has been in touch with a pro-union campaigner in that plant and has tried to give encouragement and solidarity.
Toyota management pressured workers not to vote for the union, in meetings on the factory floor, and in a video that was sent by courier to each worker's home.
The union's priority is not wages and benefits (since Toyota workers get the same pay as union workers in other plants), but on safety issues. A union leaflet said, "What good are wages and benefits if your body cannot keep up to the pace?"

"Freddie Lopes, 35, who has worked at the plant 12 years, said Toyota management was unsympathetic to workers' complaints that they were overburdened. Echoing other workers, he said that employees did not seek treatment for injuries for fear they would be reprimanded."

Source: The New York Times, July 6, 2001

UAW Buying Palm Springs Resort?

In Issue #37 of The Barking Dog I wrote about our union leaders' plans to purchase a luxury resort in Palm Springs for nearly $10 million.
A friend sent me the newspaper of UAW Local 599 in Flint, MI which contains a letter from Local 599 President Art McGee to UAW President Steven Yokich.

Brother McGee is a loyal supporter of President Yokich, but even he is disturbed about this matter. McGee notes that "there has been a great deal of discussion by our members and non-UAW sources since this issue [the purchase of the Palm Springs resort] was disclosed in the news media. Most of this has been extremely negative and has been in the form of letters to the Editor in the Flint Journal, local radio talk shows, and most recently, an editorial by the Flint Journal on May 2, 2001."
   

Brother McGee concludes, "In light of this, Brother Yokich, I am simply asking that prior to this purchase, you would present the International's reasons and business plan to our members. This is a very non-traditional action that is being considered and therefore requires a great deal more explanation than usual."

I would urge our Local President and Chairman to also write to President Yokich and ask for an explanation of why our dues money should be spent in this way.
A union should not be in the real estate business. President Yokich should not be spending our dues money on luxury accommodations for his pals in the union bureaucracy.

Caroline Lund

Solidarity Under Attack

At the St. Paul, Minnesota Ford assembly plant, Tom Laney is a Committeeman who puts out a newsletter called Nuts and Bolts. Tom writes,
"These are important days we live in. Solidarity is under attack everywhere. Big Business unions join corporations in stealing jobs from workers. Jobs get harder and harder. Unemployment grows. Dogs eat dogs. The rich get richer. The poor go to prison.
"On our side, from farms to factories, from schools to offices and hospitals, good people fight back for Solidarity, Democracy and Equality. On the jobs most people still stick together, still support each other every day - our proof that Solidarity is possible. This is the way to a fair workplace and world."

Toyota Posts Record Profits

NUMMI's News Summary quoted the Automotive News of May 21, 2001, saying that Toyota's profits are expected to top $8.2 billion this year, which is a record for any Japanese company. Last year they had record profits, too.

Yes, NUMMI is a separate company, but its books are not public, so who knows how much profits they are making? Our Bargaining Committee should certainly not believe management's claims to be poor. Open the books!

BART Worker Wins in Court

The Barking Dog #37 reported on BART worker Ray Quan, former Chief Steward for Oakland BART workers, who was suspended without a hearing and without pay because of his shop newsletter, Odds & Ends. In it Ray had complained about the elimination of the swing shift for mechanics at the Oakland shop, and had published a photo of a BART vehicle parked at the personal residence of a management official.

BART took Ray to court, asking for an injunction to keep him away from his workplace and accusing him of "stalking," for distributing his newsletter and for publishing the photo documenting personal use by management of a BART vehicle.

The Court dismissed the case against Ray and ruled that BART had to pay court and lawyers' costs. Judge David Lee ruled that "the issue of free speech is of a most preeminent concern," in the case. And he stated that "the government vehicle parked at a private residence is itself worthy of comment."

The Barking Dog salutes Ray Quan for standing up for his rights. This is a victory for free speech for all union members.

   
Quote of the Month:

"The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!" -- Anonymous

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