As Talks Resume, Army Ponders Trying To Break Goodyear Strike (Taft-Hartley Act)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/4894

As Talks Resume, Army Ponders Trying To Break Goodyear Strike

By Doug Cunningham

As Goodyear and the United Steelworkers exchange proposals at the bargaining table in Pittsburgh, there are reports that the U.S. Army wants to break the USW’s strike at the Goodyear plant in Topeka, Kansas. The House Armed Services Committee says the Army is exploring a possible injunction under the Taft-Hartley Act to force union strikers back to work. The USW’s Wayne Rannick says the union has made repeated offers to make sure that enough tires are produced for the military but Goodyear has refused.

: "A number of times we've proposed to the company that we work to address the situation. A number of times they not only declined our offer but claimed there was not a problem."

Rep. Duncan Hunter, Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee, says production at the Topeka plant supplying the military has dropped by 35 percent due to the strike.

AUDIO story here: http://www.laborradio.org/files/lo/winsheadlines.ram

[villager]

1. are they gonna shoot strikers, like in "the good old days?"

n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. Dont put it past them

not this bunch

[gratuitous]

3. Oh goody, Duncan Hunter

There's one idiot I'm glad isn't going to be chairing a House committee for much longer. I don't think the Army is going to interfere in this matter, but like others, I wouldn't put it past the Republican party as presently constituted. Or at least, they might have tried something if the electorate hadn't so emphatically repudiated Republicanism on election day.

[mikehiggins]

4. Again John Galt

If the army (and the GOPukes) can FORCE workers to go back to work, what is the difference between that and slavery?

[murdoch]

5. Absolutely nothing

It is slavery and Truman called it what it was.

I know they don't like the "N" word around here, but Nader is the only politician I've heard rail against this recently, at least since Gephardt retired (and Gephardt was more laid back about it).

Of course this whole Army thing is BS, the union has offered to do the work for the Army and only the army but Goodyear isn't interested. Which means this is just an excuse for the Republicans to try to break the strike.

[Kagemusha]

6. It wouldn't help if it was only for this one plant anyway

so either the reporting is too gentle or the media just doesn't realize the full scope of what's going on. Or both I suppose.