Friday, Sept 10, 2004
Quote of the Day
The most important resource of a union is its rank and file.
Ray Rogers, labor organizer
posted at 10:45 AM
Notice! We have a tentative agreement, subject to your ratification Saturday.
Thursday, Sept 9, 2004
Finally! 
Here's the Proposal Summary. We'll have more information tomorrow, and your Negotiating Committee will be in the shop to answer questions. As your intrepid Web Steward has not slept since 6 AM Wednesday, we're off for the evening. We'll see you tomorrow! Be sure to drop by the old watering hole, we'll have plenty more to come!
posted at 5:00 PM
Hot off the Presses! 
Folks, bear with us. We've been putting the offer together to send to the shop, but it's still being printed. As soon as we have it on disc, we will post it here - hopefully very soon. But here's the flyer we are distributing tomorrow, too. It's called "You Made It Happen!" and here's the link. We're doing our best to get everything to you as soon as possible!
posted at 4 PM
Gobs of photos! 
Here are more photos - several hundred! Were you here?
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
Photo Gallery 3
Photo Gallery 4
Photo Gallery 5
Photo Gallery 6
posted at 1:20 PM
Thanks for the help! 
The rally would not have been as successful as it was without the DJ-on-a-trailer of Steward Kelly Pitcher, and his crew. They provided great music and a place for our leadership to speak from. Thanks, guys!
posted at 1:35 PM
Tentative Contract
We have a tentative contract with Textron, subject to your ratification Saturday. We are getting the details printed, and we will have information here and in the shop as soon as possible. Please bear with us, your Committee has been up all night.
posted at 1:30 PM
Quote of the Day
If there is no struggle, there can be no progress.
Frederick Douglas
posted at 9:00 AM
Wednesday, Sept 8, 2004
Photos!
We have the first batch of photos for everyone to see. Take a look here. We'll have more on tomorrow, we promise!
posted at 8:45 PM
Your Committee Asked, You Delivered!
Thanks to everyone attending for a great rally downtown tonight! Traffic was, well, a wee bit snarled for awhile, but Wichita's Finest helped us keep things moving. We counted the crowd at something between 1500 and 1700 people!
We'd like to thank the members of SPEEA for coming out to support the IAM in their fight. Wichita Unions stick together!
We have a lot of photos, and we'll be posting them as soon as possible tonight.
Thanks again to the Wichita Police Department for their professional and polite work at the rally today. We support the officers in their quest for a fair contract!
posted at 6:30 PM
Mail, mail, we get mail...
From an email...
I am the spouse of a Cessna worker. I am middle aged, but I walk with a cane because of health problems. I may be walking with you all tonight!!! This is tremedously important to us and to Wichita! I hope to see you all there tonight. We have to show we mean business to the fat cats up there. My dad used to be one of them and I can tell you they are cold blooded people.
Thanks for all your help.
Thanks for all your support! We'll print some of the selected emails, and every email will be read by your Negotiating Committee. Thanks a lot, and we'll see everyone at the rally!
posted at 11:10 PM
Quote of the Day
"Today, we say that when you pick a fight with any of us, you pick a fight with all of us! And that when you push us, we will push back."
Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer, AFL-CIO
posted at 10:15 AM
Tuesday, Sept 7, 2004
Negotiations Update 2
We gave our counter-proposal tonight, and we are awaiting another proposal from the company tomorrow morning. We are still fighting for the issues you have told us is important for you. We are still far apart and the situation is still dire. The news has yet to improve in any real way.
See you at the rally tomorrow!
Your Negotiating Committee
posted at 11:00 PM
Negotiations Update
We did receive a new proposal from the company this morning, but it still does nothing to fix the major problems with the company's offers. It is still chock full of takeaways in every area of the contract, same as last night. Your Committee is now meeting and will present a counter-proposal at 10 PM tonight. We will have an update after that meeting.
Please be sure to be at the rally tomorrow (see above) at 4:15. We will meet at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and march to the Raddison Hotel. Bring your families, relatives, friends and neighbors. Textron has decided to take on the community, because without these good jobs, Wichita is in danger. This is the chance for you to voice your opinion to Textron about what it is trying to do to our families and our community.
DON'T MISS IT!
Your Negotiating Committee
posted at 7:10 PM
Contact Us!
Drop us a line at our new address - info@ll774.org!
posted at 7:00 PM
Quote of the Day
"The next time you wonder what the union does for you, take a look at the car you drive, the house you own, the standard of living you have, and realize that the union got these for you and that management is hell bent on driving your standard of living into the ground."
Tom Kelly, president, APWU local
posted at 9:47 AM
Monday, Sept 6, 2004 - Happy Labor Day!
Negotiations Update
Negotiations tonight ended at 9 PM with Textron still demanding massive takeaways in every area of the contract, pay, insurance, and seniority. They are "disappointed" that your Negotiating Committees wants to continue to fight for your issues at the bargaining table.
The situation has not improved in any way. We need our members on the shop floor to let Textron know that the situation in unacceptable and will not stand. We will be in negotiations tomorrow and we will be at the stewards meeting tomorrow.
posted at 9:15 PM
Important Steward Meeting
Tuesday - 1st shift, 4 PM, 2nd Shift, 1 PM, 3rd shift, either meeting.
For all Stewards and interested members - after negotiating through
the weekend, the situation is still dire and unprecedented. Your Negotiating Committee is proceeding with action plans for this week and for a possible strike.
You will receive the latest update from your Committee, and we will be taking volunteers for duties for the Wednesday rally and strike committees. Be sure to be at this most important meeting. See the flyer
posted at 7:00 PM
Labor Day is a day to honor all workers
From an editorial in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette:
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. In 1884, the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. Days off were less common at the time, so the idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885, Labor Day was celebrated in many of the nation's industrial centers.
The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885 and 1886, and the states followed in the next few years. Then in 1894, Congress passed a law recognizing Labor Day as an official national holiday.
According to the Labor Department, the form of the observance and celebration was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday -- a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday.
The holiday may never have had more economic and civic significance than it does today because of the amazing, exciting -- and sometimes frightening -- changes in the shape and scope of the nation's economy.
Also, the AFL-CIO has a Labor Day Site where you can celebrate with games, music, e-cards and more!
posted at 11:10 AM
On the tube
All day today CSpan2 has programming geared to Labor Day. Check it out!
posted at 10:30 AM
Quote of the Day
"It's a mystery to me... why so many conservative American businessmen complain about American unions... What do they [workers] buy? They buy what conservative American businessmen are selling."
George Will
posted at 10:30 AM
Sunday, Sept 5, 2004
Always on the Job, Employees Pay With Health
From an article in today's New York Times (registration required to read whole article):
American workers are stressed out, and in an unforgiving economy, they are becoming more so every day.
Sixty-two percent say their workload has increased over the last six months; 53 percent say work leaves them "overtired and overwhelmed."
Even at home, in the soccer bleachers or at the Labor Day picnic, workers are never really off the clock, bound to BlackBerries, cellphones and laptops. Add iffy job security, rising health care costs, ailing pension plans and the fear that a financial setback could put mortgage payments out of reach, and the office has become, for many, an echo chamber of angst.
It is enough to make workers sick - and it does.
Decades of research have linked stress to everything from heart attacks and stroke to diabetes and a weakened immune system. Now, however, researchers are connecting the dots, finding that the growing stress and uncertainty of the office have a measurable impact on workers' health and, by extension, on companies' bottom lines.
Great. Now we know how much Textron cares - slash our health care, threaten our jobs, destroy our family lives by changing our shifts all over the place, and we're supposed to be thankful for this contract offer and kiss their... feet?
Not likely.
posted at 4:45 PM
Labor Day Celebration
Please join us today from 12-4 at the Machinists Hall, 3830 S. Meridan, for today's Labor Day Picnic. Your Negotiating Committe will be there, and we will be having bingo, games, hot dogs, hamburgers, prizes and speakers. Come out and have fun!
posted at 11:00 AM
Quote of the Day
"Divide and Conquer. As long as some people have commanded the work of others, this has been management's basic principle."
Peter Rachleff, labor historian
posted at 11:00 AM
Saturday, Sept 4, 2004
Negotiations Update
We met with the company today, and there was a lot of dialog over the issue very dear to many of us, medical care.
Your Negotiating Committee will be at the Labor Day festivities tomorrow at noon-4 PM at the District Lodge Hall at 3830 S. Meridian. Please stop by and have a hot dog with us, and we will be happy to discuss the state of the negotations.
Please continue to enjoy your IAM-negotiated 3-day holiday weekend celebrating you - the working men and women of America. It's family time in Wichita, but we must realize the fight for our rights as Americans isn't over yet!
Your Negotiating Committee
posted at 6:15 PM
Quote of the Day
The Labor Movement -
The Folks That Brought You
The Weekend
Bumper Sticker
posted at 11:00 AM