"The Barking Dog" is a pro-worker, pro-union voice for the people at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA.
Editor is Caroline Lund, a rank-and-file member of United Auto Workers Local 2244.
This is issue #17, dated August 2, 1999.
We all know that jobs are being cut all over the plant (one person in the know" told me 10% of all jobs were to be cut) and the work added to other people's jobs. Jobs are taken from one department and transferred to another, in order to cut jobs. People are thrown into the labor pool," not knowing where they will end up. Others are working harder, sweating, to do the added work. No time to talk, tie your shoelace, have a drink of water, put your hair clip in better, or whatever. Frustration. Anger.
How far will they go? How many jobs will they cut? What will it take to make people want to join together to resist? People are afraid for their jobs. But we don't realize how powerful we can be if we can unite. In Final 3 we tried to stop our best job being given to Repair (along with job cuts in Final 3 and Repair). More than 100 of us signed a petition to President Ishii, but we haven't heard from him. At least we didn't just accept the speed-up without a protest!
Of course no one can be against increasing efficiency. But improved efficiency should come through machines, reorganization, redesigned parts that fit together more easily, etc. It does not improve efficiency" when you simply make the worker do more work in the same time period. That only increases wear and tear on the worker's body and mind.
The Union Committeepeople will tell you that the Contract gives the Company the right to change the organization of work and workloads however it wants. This is true. But why do most of them try to discourage us from protesting? Why do they more or less tell us there's nothing that can be done? Why don't they give encouragement when we try to do a petition or some other united protest?
I think many of them feel WE are powerless and THEY are the bigshots with influence with Management. Really, they have it all wrong. Their only power comes from us.
-- Caroline Lund
It seems that the same thing happening at NUMMI is happening at Saturn. Thomas Hopp, a worker on the door line at Saturn, sent this message to The Barking Dog:"
I am sending the latest copy of ,Disability News,' a worker publication that is written and distributed at Saturn by injured employees.
,Disability News' was handed out at all the doors of Saturn on 6/23/99 and was well received by the employees. The amount of on-the-job injuries at Saturn is very high and will only go higher with the latest line rebalance (speed-up).
On the Saturn shop floor the level of stress is rising again. The line speed was lowered to 59.7 jobs per hour and many jobs were eliminated. Of course management always takes the opportunity to load up the jobs with more work.
With the speed-ups, product recalls, poor employee morale, and now possible plans of GM to eliminate our powertrain operations in 2002, this place is a time bomb ready to blow at any time. The failure of the Saturn Memo [the Agreement with the UAW] is obvious.
The Barking Dog is always well received at Saturn. Employees ask me when the next issue is coming out. Hundreds of copies were distributed. There is interest in what is going on at NUMMI because if you are doing it at NUMMI it will be heading our way soon."
-- Thomas Hopp [If anyone would like a copy of Disability News," I can give you one. --
See Caroline on Final 3 Door Line, second shift.]
I would like to comment on the article Summer Hires in High Seniority Jobs" in the last Barking Dog." I agree with most of the article. Summer hires do get high seniority jobs. (But don't forget, we do work on the line, too.)
But I totally disagree with the last sentence, which says it's unsafe for teenagers" to drive tugs. To say that is really sad. It is discriminatory toward young people to say that teenagers can't drive well. Yes, I know there was one (or two) summer hire(s) who has had some trouble driving a tug. But just because one person has a problem doesn't mean that all teenagers have that problem.
People with a lot of seniority mess up too, but they don't get yelled at like a young person does.
-- Vivian
An 18-year-old summer hire
When I was a new hire working on the line, I recall team members saying, no matter how bad the pain is, don't ever go to Medical within your probation period at least. The reason for this is that you might get fired and there is nothing you can do or anyone can do, since the Local Union can't defend you yet.
And this actually happened, since I personally know a new hire who got injured before his 90 days and had to go to Medical a few times during this period and got fired.
My question is: Why do you have to suffer due to an injury you couldn't help? The Company has brainwashed many team members. This is a form of intimidation, and it lingers on into different areas, whereby people get injured and are afraid of what might happen to them if they say they are injured. They would rather suffer in silence in order to look good in the eyes of Management.
It is part of NUMMI practice that you risk your well-being for NUMMI. Just for the sake of this opinion, what would happen if NUMMI closed down and you develop some kind of ailment due to an injury at work, but because you did not report the injury and get the treatment you needed, now you're on your own. And your next job might be similar or physical just like this one, and the injury could develop into something you can not work with.
It's a known fact that if you know someone in the right place, you can always get what you want, and the same thing applies to NUMMI. Knowing someone in Management or just a family member, e.g., your Dad, Mom, Uncle, etc., can get you an easy job quickly at NUMMI. Otherwise known as favoritism.
As an injured worker, I have seen a lot of this practice, whereby people get their way easily to a better suitable job without hassle. Why can't everyone be treated equally, since we say No Discrimination?
-- A Concerned Team Member
The following is a quote from the Cleveland Plain Dealer" of June 25, 1999:
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has dropped its plan to merge with U.S. unions representing auto and steel workers, saying it's not a good fit. The merger of the Machinists, the United Auto Workers and the United Steel Workers of America would have created the largest U.S. industrial union, with 2.15 million members.
High ranking union officials from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and United Steel Workers cited failed merger talks with the UAW over corruption in the UAW, refusal of the UAW to adopt one person, one vote to make the union leadership accountable to the membership, and the UAW's refusal to bring the UAW retirement level at 30 years, from $1,200 into line with the $3,200 a month retirement level of the IAM and Steel Workers.
The Teamsters Union, recent union organizing of Honda Marysville, Ohio, once considered exclusive UAW organizing territory, expressed interest in merger talks with the metal unions, said they would have no problem with the no corruption, or membership being able to vote for Union Leadership, and they were at a $3,100 a month 30-year retirement level."
Why haven't we heard anything about this from our own UAW leadership?
Our Local held a successful collection for the locked-out Steel Workers at Kaiser Aluminum last month. About $900 was donated between the two collections we had (the first one was shut down by NUMMI Management after about 15 minutes). I'm sure the Kaiser workers will get a big morale boost from our contribution.
A couple people asked me why our union asks us for money when our union has millions of dollars in the bank. It is true our union is not poor. And many union members do not trust our leadership to spend our dues money in the best way.
But it is going to be a long-term process to change our union's priorities and leadership. And in the meantime, fellow union members who are out there on the front lines of the struggle need our support in worker-to-worker solidarity. Who knows, we could be in their position sooner than we think.
-- Caroline Lund
The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
-- Steve Biko, South African freedom fighter, murdered by the apartheid regime