Deeply concerning news from the Wall Street Journal …
Caterpillar Inc., after prevailing in battles with unions in Illinois and Ontario last year, is preparing for the possibility of a strike at a mining-equipment plant in South Milwaukee, Wis.
Caterpillar, the world’s biggest maker of construction and mining equipment, is training managerial and support staff for production jobs at the South Milwaukee plant, which makes large shovels used in mining, a company spokesman said. The Peoria, Ill.-based company is due to begin talks soon with officials of the United Steelworkers union, which represents about 800 workers at the plant. The USW labor contract at the plant expires April 30.
The Caterpillar spokesman said the preparations were part of the “normal workforce contingency training process that we have been using since the early 2000s prior to labor negotiations.” But some USW officials saw the training as a warning to unionized workers that the company was prepared to keep producing even if they strike.
“We’re going to be very well prepared” for the negotiations, said Gary Hubbard, a spokesman of the USW in Washington. He described the union as both “tough” and “sophisticated” and said the USW “can help Caterpillar succeed.”
See the whole story here … and post your comments below!
I’ll keep you posted.
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