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13 July, 2005ICEM News Release No. 3/1999
Two striking American tyre workers and their families and a leader of their union, the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), are joining Slovak parliamentarians and workers from tyre multinational Continental AG's Slovak plant in Bratislava today in protesting against what they call Continental's "international assault on working families."
The event marks the beginning of a European solidarity tour this week which will also include meetings with union workers from Continental facilities in Scotland, France, Belgium, Turkey and the Czech Republic.
The families are among 1,450 strikers at Continental's General Tire plant in Charlotte, North Carolina. They have been on strike since September of last year. The delegation includes Andy Hodges, his wife and their three children, and John Mace, Sr., his wife and their three children. Together, Hodges and Mace have 40 years of service at the company.
"We're victims of an international campaign by Continental to wring profits out of the hides of its workers and their families," said John Sellers, Executive Vice President of the USWA and head of the union's Rubber/Plastics Conference, which represents workers at Continental's North Carolina plant, as well as Continental workers in Mayfield, Kentucky and Bryan, Ohio.
Today's events follow a series of meetings late last week in Hannover, Germany, between officials of the USWA, IG Bergbau Chemie Energie (the German mining, chemical and energy union), worker representatives from the Continental Supervisory Board, officials of Continental's German Works Council, and the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
Both the USWA and IG BCE are ICEM affiliates. Continental is headquartered in Germany.
The officials of the German union, Continental's Works Council and worker members of the Supervisory Board expressed their "profound regret" regarding Continental's firing of the striking workers in Charlotte and offered their support and solidarity for the USWA.
"After Continental bought General Tire in 1988, the workers agreed to 90 million US dollars [77.7 million euro] in wages and benefit give-backs - 30,000 dollars [25,900 euro] per worker - with the clear understanding that we would be properly compensated when the plant returned to profitability," said Sellers.
"The plant is now making record profits," Sellers continued. "Instead of rewarding our loyalty, Continental double-crossed us with bad faith bargaining, unfair labour practices, and firing the entire workforce. They even wiped out these families' health care benefits less than a week before Christmas," he said. [The US does not have a generalised healthcare system. Most workers and their families are dependent on their employers for basic health coverage, which is a bargainable and withdrawable benefit.]
Sellers said Continental's savaging of workers violates US laws, and added, "This kind of corporate behaviour would never be tolerated in Germany." He said the Steelworkers have launched an international corporate campaign to expose Continental's brutal assault on working families.
"We will fight as long as it takes to combat Continental's brutality," said Sellers. "We fought [tyre multinational] Bridgestone/Firestone until that company came to its senses. Apparently we'll have to do the same with Continental."
Sellers said the Steelworkers have brought their message to Europe to build international solidarity among workers being abused by Continental throughout the world. In Turkey, workers have been fired for organising a union; in Scotland they are being threatened with being forced to work more hours without additional pay; in Ireland a unionised plant has been shut down and moved elsewhere - a threat being made by Continental in numerous countries.
The solidarity tour is being coordinated by the ICEM, which unites some 20 million workers in the rubber, chemical, energy, mining and other industries worldwide.
The event marks the beginning of a European solidarity tour this week which will also include meetings with union workers from Continental facilities in Scotland, France, Belgium, Turkey and the Czech Republic.
The families are among 1,450 strikers at Continental's General Tire plant in Charlotte, North Carolina. They have been on strike since September of last year. The delegation includes Andy Hodges, his wife and their three children, and John Mace, Sr., his wife and their three children. Together, Hodges and Mace have 40 years of service at the company.
"We're victims of an international campaign by Continental to wring profits out of the hides of its workers and their families," said John Sellers, Executive Vice President of the USWA and head of the union's Rubber/Plastics Conference, which represents workers at Continental's North Carolina plant, as well as Continental workers in Mayfield, Kentucky and Bryan, Ohio.
Today's events follow a series of meetings late last week in Hannover, Germany, between officials of the USWA, IG Bergbau Chemie Energie (the German mining, chemical and energy union), worker representatives from the Continental Supervisory Board, officials of Continental's German Works Council, and the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
Both the USWA and IG BCE are ICEM affiliates. Continental is headquartered in Germany.
The officials of the German union, Continental's Works Council and worker members of the Supervisory Board expressed their "profound regret" regarding Continental's firing of the striking workers in Charlotte and offered their support and solidarity for the USWA.
"After Continental bought General Tire in 1988, the workers agreed to 90 million US dollars [77.7 million euro] in wages and benefit give-backs - 30,000 dollars [25,900 euro] per worker - with the clear understanding that we would be properly compensated when the plant returned to profitability," said Sellers.
"The plant is now making record profits," Sellers continued. "Instead of rewarding our loyalty, Continental double-crossed us with bad faith bargaining, unfair labour practices, and firing the entire workforce. They even wiped out these families' health care benefits less than a week before Christmas," he said. [The US does not have a generalised healthcare system. Most workers and their families are dependent on their employers for basic health coverage, which is a bargainable and withdrawable benefit.]
Sellers said Continental's savaging of workers violates US laws, and added, "This kind of corporate behaviour would never be tolerated in Germany." He said the Steelworkers have launched an international corporate campaign to expose Continental's brutal assault on working families.
"We will fight as long as it takes to combat Continental's brutality," said Sellers. "We fought [tyre multinational] Bridgestone/Firestone until that company came to its senses. Apparently we'll have to do the same with Continental."
Sellers said the Steelworkers have brought their message to Europe to build international solidarity among workers being abused by Continental throughout the world. In Turkey, workers have been fired for organising a union; in Scotland they are being threatened with being forced to work more hours without additional pay; in Ireland a unionised plant has been shut down and moved elsewhere - a threat being made by Continental in numerous countries.
The solidarity tour is being coordinated by the ICEM, which unites some 20 million workers in the rubber, chemical, energy, mining and other industries worldwide.