COMMUNITY
Picketers gone, not forgotten
By Brian Bloch
Emerald Reporter
The picket lines in front of
Springfield's Morgan-Nicolai
plant are gone, but for the more
than 250 union workers who
lost their jobs, the two-year
strike will always be remem
bered.
The labor strike that began
July 1 I. 1988 ended two weeks
after replacement workers and
about 50 union workers who
crossed the pickets at the door
manufacturing plant voted out
the union Oct 30. HIOO. forc
ing hundreds of union workers
to look for other employment in
an ailing Oregon timber econo
my.
Since then, the Western
Council of Industrial Workers
Local 3035 has shut down its
office and left the group of dis
placed workers with no formal
representation and little hope
for better employment
"It's really been a dramatic
turnaround for these people,
for their families and their life
styles," said LeRoy Robinson,
president of local 3035. "What
they did to the union was eco
nomic warfare."
In spite of the outward de
feat. Robinson said pride and a
sense of value remain in the
minds of the workers who lost
their jobs.
"I think by our actions we’ve
brought awareness to unions
and the issues they face." Rob
inson said. "It's not many peo
ple who can say they stood up
for what they believed in We
did.”
What they believed in for
more than two years was not
conceding to Morgan-Nicolai
contract offers that would have
drastically cut benefits and re
duced wages by up to :t() per
cent. Robinson said
Nicolai contended it needed
Id make cuts to remain compel
itivcr while’ striking workers
said they believed the cuts
were primarily an attempt to
force out the union for higher
profits
Turn to STRIKE. Page 8
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