Goodyear strike draws alarming response from federal government
Marion Coddou
Issue date: 2/5/07 Section: News/Features
On Jan. 2, over 14,000 Goodyear employees represented by the United Steelworkers union (USW) returned to work, ending a 12-week strike protesting proposed plant closings and cuts in pay and health care benefits. The work stoppage left the 16 factories represented by USW operating at as low as 20 percent capacity and cost Goodyear an estimated $30-35 million per week. After 12 weeks, the $360-420 million lost had made a powerful statement.
However, not long after the walkout, news surfaced that the U.S. Army was looking into breaking the strike due to concerns over an impending shortage of Humvee tires. The tires, needed for the war in Iraq, were manufactured by one of the striking Goodyear plants in Kansas. While USW agreed to work out a deal to get workers back in the critical factory, Goodyear denied that there was a problem and declined the offer of compromise, setting the stage for a crisis. In December, Rep. Duncan Hunter, D-Calif., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, indicated that the army was considering an injunction under the Taft-Hartley Act that would force strikers at the Kansas plant to resume work. This proposal, of course, would not entail descending on strikers with tasers or tear gas, nor physically coercing them back to their jobs; but whether by order of armed soldiers or a judge, the end result, forced labor, is disturbing. The Taft-Hartley Act is an unfortunate product of the reactionary anti-union sentiment which followed WWII, and it is long overdue for amendment or repeal.
The act, also called the Labor-Management Relations Act, was one of the first pieces of anti-New Deal legislation passed by the new Republican congress over Truman's veto in 1947. It severely restricted the power of organized labor and, among other checks, opened the door to controversial state "right-to-work" laws. The injunction referred to in the Goodyear case specifically alludes to the section of the bill that allows the U.S. president, after concluding that a lockout, strike or slow-down threatens "national economic health and security," to call for an 80 day "cooling-off period" in which employees return to work under the terms of the expired contract while the union and employer enter mediation. At the end of 60 days, the employer presents its final proposal, and the union membership must vote to accept or reject it. If the issue is not resolved and the government does not pass new legislation to prevent future disputes within 80 days, the injunction expires, and the union and employer may resume economic pressure tactics. Anyone who violates the injunction faces fines and imprisonment.
However, not long after the walkout, news surfaced that the U.S. Army was looking into breaking the strike due to concerns over an impending shortage of Humvee tires. The tires, needed for the war in Iraq, were manufactured by one of the striking Goodyear plants in Kansas. While USW agreed to work out a deal to get workers back in the critical factory, Goodyear denied that there was a problem and declined the offer of compromise, setting the stage for a crisis. In December, Rep. Duncan Hunter, D-Calif., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, indicated that the army was considering an injunction under the Taft-Hartley Act that would force strikers at the Kansas plant to resume work. This proposal, of course, would not entail descending on strikers with tasers or tear gas, nor physically coercing them back to their jobs; but whether by order of armed soldiers or a judge, the end result, forced labor, is disturbing. The Taft-Hartley Act is an unfortunate product of the reactionary anti-union sentiment which followed WWII, and it is long overdue for amendment or repeal.
The act, also called the Labor-Management Relations Act, was one of the first pieces of anti-New Deal legislation passed by the new Republican congress over Truman's veto in 1947. It severely restricted the power of organized labor and, among other checks, opened the door to controversial state "right-to-work" laws. The injunction referred to in the Goodyear case specifically alludes to the section of the bill that allows the U.S. president, after concluding that a lockout, strike or slow-down threatens "national economic health and security," to call for an 80 day "cooling-off period" in which employees return to work under the terms of the expired contract while the union and employer enter mediation. At the end of 60 days, the employer presents its final proposal, and the union membership must vote to accept or reject it. If the issue is not resolved and the government does not pass new legislation to prevent future disputes within 80 days, the injunction expires, and the union and employer may resume economic pressure tactics. Anyone who violates the injunction faces fines and imprisonment.
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