U.S. News: Unions Confront Rising Tide --- Walkouts Decline Nationally, but Some Caterpillar Workers Are Willing to Gamble
JOLIET, Ill. -- The most obvious question for workers striking at a Caterpillar Inc. plant here is: Are you crazy?</br></br>The giant maker of construction and mining equipment is known for crushing union opposition. In February, after workers at Caterpillar's locomotive plant in London, Ontario, refused a pay cut, the company closed the factory and eliminated their jobs. In the 1990s, Caterpillar used white-collar staff and temporary workers to operate plants during strikes by the United Auto Workers, who eventually capitulated.</br></br>Now, even though more than 500 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, will enter the second week of a strike Tuesday, Caterpillar insists it will maintain production at the Joliet plant, which makes hydraulic parts.</br></br>The strikers are protesting Caterpillar's six-year contract proposal that could freeze pay for many workers, reduce benefits and change work schedules.</br></br>Many workers across the nation, including union members and civil servants, have been swallowing hard and accepting reduced benefits, flat or declining wages and higher health-care costs as companies and state and local governments search for savings. States with lower wages and restrictions on unions are attracting new plants. Union power is declining.