Teamsters members strike at South Charleston engine plant

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

Teamsters members strike at South Charleston engine plant
The Associated Press

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. --
Forty-three employees of engine parts manufacturer Cummins Crosspoint are on strike and are prepared to continue the job action until they get the company's attention, said an official with Teamsters Local 175.

The union members set up picket lines at 6 a.m. Sunday at the operation in the South Charleston Industrial Park, said Luke Farley, a business and attorney for the local.

Since the operation was purchased by Cummins Crosspoint in September, Farley said, the company has refused to honor the collective bargaining agreement in place at the time of the sale.

Cummins Crosspoint has tripled the amount employees must pay for health benefits, failed to recognize the seniority rights of longtime employees - some who've been there for nearly 40 years - and refused to pay for the repair of their tools, he said.

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/31810.html

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"the company has refused to honor the collective bargaining agreement in place at the time of the sale." This is why there are unions in the first place.

[Occulus]

1. Why can't unions take companies to court for "breach of contract"?

Is there such an animal as a "breach of contract" lawsuit?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. It's past time for another good labor movement.

I was a Steelworker at one time, and a union rep for a term, so I well know what a powerful union can do for the average worker. This is a resource that has been weakened far too much over the years. The worker on the whole has NO representation any more (witness the many "I'm getting fired tomorrow" threads constantly on the DU pages). I've also been on that end of the sword from time to time, so I can relate from almost every angle possible.

If we don't help ourselves nobody will. It's up to the laborers to remind the country exactly what it is they do. Right now, the only voice crying out for them is their own.