Following is

#53 of The Barking Dog, dated April 15, 2003.

It is put out by Caroline Lund, a Trustee of UAW Local 2244 at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA

Politics and Manipulation

NUMMI and the UAW are sponsoring a "support our troops" day on Thursday. There will be all kinds of patriotic flag-waving, and we will be asked to donate $10,000 for toothbrushes and calling cards for the troops.Somebody has got to tell the truth about what is going on here. The bigshots in our plant - company and union - are using sympathy for the troops to try to manipulate us into supporting the war on Iraq, silencing complaints on the shop floor, and prettifying our union officials for the coming union elections.We all know how cheap patriotism is often used by politicians to make themselves look good and to put their opponents on the defensive.

Samuel Johnson wrote that:"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Another thinker (Max Eastman) wrote: "If one were loyal to one's nation only because it was good and true. . . one would not be loyal to any nation, but to truth and goodness." The truth is that our country is not being "good and true" in its invasion of Iraq, a poor country whose people have never harmed us.NUMMI workers are good-hearted, generous people. We could easily raise $10,000. But who should it go to? To U.S. soldiers? You see them on TV - healthy, well-fed, well-clothed, with the latest in medical care (at least while they're on active duty).The best support for the troops would be to bring them home immediately, so that they are no longer forced into the position of being killers or being killed.Or would the $10,000 better go to the Iraqi people, their cities bombed by the US. into rubble, with no water, no food, no hospitals? Veterans Benefits Slashed

Here's an example of politicians' cynical use of the troops for their own agendas:"At about 1 a.m. on March 21, soon after the start of the war, members of the House of Representatives gave our troops a warm hand in the form of a resolution commending their bravery in launching Operation Iraqi Freedom."At 3 a.m., however, by a narrow margin, the Congress flipped the finger at the future of those same troops - in the form of a budget resolution that cut $14 billion from veterans programs over the next 10 years." (N.Y. Newsday, April 6)Flyer From a "New Hire"?

On April 7 a leaflet appeared in the plant, supposedly by a new hire but in the same type face and layout as Art Torres' recent flyers. The mythical "new hire" (who of course does not sign his/her name) tells us how low the pay is for people in the military and says, basically, we should be glad we have such good paying jobs and should stop complaining "about bad conditions in our plant."This deceptive leaflet from the Administration Caucus attacks anyone who criticizes their policies as being "divisive," "discouraging," and "union-busting." Then they jump, illogically, to say, don't these critics know that "we, as a country, are at war"?Two things need to be said here. One, the U.S. is not under attack. Our country is the invader of Iraq, a small, poor country. Here is how Time magazine described the war:"It's not a fair fight," says [U.S.] Major Kevin Dunlop. "Trucks with machine guns against tanks and Bradleys can only have one outcome. We are slaughtering them."Secondly, the war has no relevance to the disagreements within our union. The Administration Caucus is focussing on "supporting the troops" in order to deflect attention from their going along with Company speed-up and outsourcing, and to try to put their union opponents on the defensive.NUMMI supports a patriotic day to raise money (our money) for care packages, but does anyone believe the company would support a campaign for improving vets' benefits? I think not!Why does NUMMI want a patriotic day of fund-raising for the troops? Because it fuels the image that union members and company are all together with the same interests. They want you to forget the speed-up, the outsourcing, the favoritism, the spying on our bathroom breaks, the arrogance of management.They want you to unthinkingly love our company and our country; forget about the fact that in our country, in our plant, and throughout the world, the rich lord it over the working people.Bush, at Home and Abroad

As NUMMI and our union officials try to herd us to the Thursday patriotic fund-raiser, think about this: Bush's foreign policy is nothing but an extension of his domestic policy.While our government is smashing Iraq to smithereens, it is at the same time ripping up the Bill of Rights; detaining people with no right to a lawyer or to know the charges against you; legitimizing torture; slashing funds for education, medical care and veterans' benefits; taking union rights from thousands of federal employees; and cutting taxes for the rich while increasing prison space for the poor.Is it really conceivable that Bush is trying to bring freedom and democracy to the people of Iraq, while he slashes and burns the rights and living standards of working people at home?What To Do Thursday

We all have our own opinions on the war against Iraq, and true union supporters should maintain mutual respect as brothers and sisters whatever our views.On Thursday I will not show up for the drums of patriotism in the cafeteria. I will help raise aid for the Iraqi people and will press for increased veterans benefits.Let's not be stampeded by the Company or the union into phony patriotism, when our government has declared never-ending war and the right to pre-emptive strikes and invasions anywhere it pleases.Let's not be intimidated from expressing our opinions about what kind of union and what kind of policies we members need in the present situation of threats and dangers for working people throughout the world.

Caroline Lund

A Soldier Speaks

"'It's a little sobering. When you're training for this, you joke about it, you can't wait for the real thing. Then when you see it, when you see the real thing, you never want to see it again.'--Capt. Sal Aguilar, standing in a field near the Diyala River, with dead Iraqi bodies all around him" (4-13-03 S.F. Chronicle) If It's Not Broke, Don't Fix It

Art Torres made a motion at the February membership meeting to have the Bargaining Committee election held separate from the general election. It was also proposed by the Shop Chairman (Art Torres) that we would be electing 4 Bargaining Committee members, two on days and two on nights, from the newly elected District Committee persons.Does this mean a candidate would have to first be elected District Committeeperson in the first election to be eligible to be elected as a Bargaining Committee person in the second election? If this is true, that means that a union-dues paying member can no longer run for this position, unless you are already a District Committeeperson.What's wrong with the existing Bylaws that we have had for the last 19 years? These Bylaws were passed by the members of Local 2244 and accepted by the International Union.

Why would the Administration Caucus want to have two separate elections?

Would this change benefit the membership? It's hard enough for people to vote once; why put this extra burden on the membership to have to vote twice? Besides, wouldn't it be more cost efficient to have one general election, rather than to have two elections? Who would run these two elections? The current pro-Administration Caucus Election Committee? or an outside "neutral" agency?Is it true that this change was not brought to the Bylaws Committee as stated in the Bylaws of U.A.W. Local 2244 Article 23 section 1?If Chairman Art Torres and his Administration Caucus violate our Union Bylaws and make this change without going through the proper procedures as stated in the Bylaws of UAW Local 2244 Article 23 section 1, then they're no better than management violating our contract by making changes to our attendance policy.IF IT'S NOT BROKE, WHY FIX IT?

Leticia Quesada - Audit Lab, Q.C.

"Mandatory" Lunch Meetings?

My Group Leader has stated that we are required to attend any mandatory meetings, even during lunch, because we are being paid for our lunch break. Even some Committeepeople are confused about whether management has a right to do that.But we are not paid for our 1/2 hour lunch break (our 15-minute paid break is tacked onto the 1/2 hour unpaid lunch time). Lunch meetings are not mandatory. The Contract says (page 97): "During lunch, employees will not be required to perform any duties."Don't be bullied or misled into attending a lunchtime meeting if you don't want to.

Ron Ferreira, QC Truck