So far, the Caterpillar campaigns initiated by Palestinian solidarity groups in the USA -- e.g., <http://www.sustaincampaign.org/cat_actionkit.html> and <http://www.catdestroyshomes.org/> -- have, unfortunately, nothing to say about Caterpillar's history of attacks on American workers (Cf. <http://solidarity.igc.org/savvy$warzone.htm> & <http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/cat.htm>). The blind spot in the Palestinian solidarity movement limits the Cat campaigns' potential.
There is a chance to create an unprecedented coalition between Cat workers and Palestinian solidarity activists in 2004, though.
* The United Auto Workers' first bargaining meeting with Cat is scheduled for December 10, 2003, and the current UAW contract with Cat will expire on March 31, 2004. The contract negotiation may re-ignite fierce class struggle (see James P. Miller, "Cat's Brightening Outlook Clouded by Labor Unrest," _Chicago Tribune_, September 10, 2003, and Paul Gordon, "Cat Sees Bump in Contract Talks," Copley News Service, October 21, 2003 -- both articles reproduced below).
* The Palestinian Land Day (Yom El-Ard) is March 30. Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is likely to call a national day of action on or near March 30, 2004. One of the action proposals from the Caterpillar and National Day of Action workshops at the Palestine Solidarity Conference held at the Ohio State University on November 7-9, 2003 is a call for mass convergence on the Caterpillar Headquarters in Peoria, Illinois and solidarity actions nationwide. The Palestine Solidarity Conference held in New Brunswick, New Jersey on October 10-12, 2003 also issued a call for "nationally coordinated action in commemoration of Land Day (March 30) and the Deir Yasin Massacre (April 9)" (at <http://www.divestmentconference.com/index2.html>).
Both labor activists and Palestinian solidarity activists in the USA need to come up with creative means to link the struggles here and in the occupied territories. How might we go about accomplishing this task? Thoughts?
***** Cat's brightening outlook clouded by labor unrest CEO Barton gives warning to UAW
By James P. Miller Tribune staff reporter Published September 10, 2003
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Even as it appears poised to enjoy a long-awaited upturn in its business, Caterpillar Inc. is bracing for a possible renewal of the bitter labor strife the company endured in the 1990s.
At a daylong presentation last week to Wall Street analysts and fund managers at a company-owned site in the desert outside this Arizona city, one Cat official after another stepped forward to outline how cost-cutting and efficiency measures have helped fatten the Peoria manufacturing giant's profit margins, how a diversification effort has lessened the heavy equipment-maker's vulnerability to the economy's cyclical swings, and how the rapidly growing infrastructure needs of developing nations around the world promise "fantastic" future growth opportunities.
In a closing address, Chairman and Chief Executive Glen Barton sounded the same upbeat themes but then went out of his way to send a carefully worded warning shot across the bow of the United Auto Workers union, whose contract with Cat expires March 31.
"While we hope to avoid any work stoppage," Barton said, "we have tangible and realistic plans in place to ensure continued success" in the event of a strike.
Barton's pointed commentary "sounds very similar to what Cat said in 1991," when the company was preparing for a groundbreaking, and ultimately successful, face-off with the union, said Bill Scott, head of negotiations for UAW Local 974 in Peoria. Scott declined to comment further, saying a formal response should come from officials at the UAW national office in Detroit. Officials there couldn't be reached Tuesday.
There is further evidence Caterpillar is preparing for a possible fight. The company, which successfully thwarted a previous UAW strike by hiring replacement workers, has launched a court challenge of a recently passed Illinois law that restricts the ability of companies to hire temporary replacement workers during strikes.
Under the law, which took effect in July, employers faced with a strike may hire temporary replacement workers but are barred from using a day-labor agency to find such workers.
With negotiations set to begin in early December, the auto workers' bargaining position appears weaker than it was a dozen years ago. For one thing, as a result of productivity improvements and Caterpillar's expansion of offshore production, Caterpillar's 67,000-person global workforce includes a much smaller number of UAW-represented workers than in the past: The union represents about 7,800 Cat workers, just about half the number it represented in 1991.
And though a Caterpillar spokeswoman emphasized that "hopefully, there won't be any work stoppage," she confirmed that the company's extensive foreign production capability will allow it to fill U.S. customers' orders with products manufactured by workers in other countries to a much greater extent than it could a decade ago.
History of strife
Through much of the 1990s, relations between the company and the UAW were marred by hostility and repeated conflicts.
Workers walked out after their contract expired in late 1991, but grudgingly returned to work several months later--without a new contract--after Caterpillar threatened to resume production using temporary workers. The return, under terms imposed by Caterpillar management, marked a painful retreat for Cat's UAW workers. It would not be the last.
In mid-1994, still working without a contract, the workers launched another strike. This time, Caterpillar followed through on its promise to keep the line running. Using a production workforce composed of salaried employees, temporary workers and disaffected UAW members who crossed the picket line, Caterpillar not only continued to turn out product, but also reported record profit for that year.
After a disastrous 17-month holdout, during which UAW members tried to survive on $100 a week in strike pay and Caterpillar continued to churn out machinery, the UAW ended the second walkout in early 1996.
Even after the workers returned to their jobs, it took more than two years before the union negotiated a contract: In what's widely viewed as a major victory for Caterpillar's management, the union signed a six-year contract granting a number of concessions in pay and work-rule issues. That 1998 contract, which generated widespread unhappiness among the union rank and file, is set to expire at the end of March.
Barton, 64, wasn't at the helm during the protracted dispute; he moved into the top job in 1999, succeeding Donald Fites.
Barton's strategy has centered on diversifying Caterpillar and on reaping operating efficiencies through the use of a management-strategy program known as "Six Sigma." His performance has drawn solid marks from Wall Street, even though Caterpillar's marketplace has been depressed for much of his tenure as CEO.
Best known for its signature yellow earth-moving equipment, Caterpillar is also a leading manufacturer of diesel engines for use in trucks, electricity-generating equipment and other applications. But its heavy-equipment sales have been under pressure around the globe, because weak economic conditions in the U.S. and other major nations have held down Cat's sales and pricing power.
The mining industry, a major buyer of Caterpillar's mammoth equipment, has been blighted by low prices for copper and other commodities for several years. More recently, diesel-engine sales have been crimped by a cyclical downturn in the truck industry and by a falloff in once-red-hot demand for electricity-generating gear.
Awaiting `replacement cycle'
Now, however, evidence is growing that Caterpillar's prospects are brightening. Through the first six months of this year, Caterpillar's results have shown surprising strength. In less than a year, the price of Cat shares has more than doubled, from a low of $33.75 in October to Tuesday's closing price of $69.40.
In the face of sluggish economic conditions, many of Cat's equipment customers have kept their old machines running rather than shell out for something new. But their ability to do so is finite, Cat officials reminded analysts, and evidence is growing that the "replacement cycle" is starting to kick in.
In emphasizing Caterpillar's growth prospects, officials said the company, which last year had revenue of $20.15 billion, expects to hit $30 billion by the end of the decade.
It remains to be seen whether Caterpillar's clean-diesel technology will yield all the economic benefits company officials predict, said H.C. Wainwright & Co. analyst Eli Lustgarten, and only time will tell whether the growth spurt Cat officials are forecasting comes to fruition.
"Having said that," Lustgarten added, "I'd hate to compete against these guys."
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0309100208sep10,0,1536923.story?coll=chi-business-hed> *****
***** Cat sees bump in contract talks BY PAUL GORDON COPLEY NEWS SERVICE Oct 21, 2003
PEORIA - Escalating health-care costs is an issue everywhere, so it stands to reason it likely will be a key issue in upcoming contract talks between Caterpillar Inc. and the United Auto Workers, the company's chief bargainer said Friday.
But Chris Glynn, director of corporate labor relations at Caterpillar, declined to be specific about health care or other issues that may be on the table when negotiations begin Dec. 10 at the Hotel Pere Marquette. Not surprisingly, Glynn was noncommittal in most of his responses to media questions during a briefing at Caterpillar's demonstration center in Edwards. The purpose of the briefing was to give a general overview of the bargaining process and the company's philosophy without being specific about issues, Glynn said.
Still, he sounded upbeat about some things, including the man he'll face across the table, UAW International Vice President Cal Rapson. "I have gotten acquainted with Cal Rapson in some preliminary discussions we've had. I think he is a very capable and profession individual," Glynn said. "I can't help but feel the fact we've gotten to know each other a little will be beneficial."
He added he believes he and Rapson can work together because they want the same thing - a fair contract for employees and the company. "We want to focus on a good-faith bargaining process and get a contract that lets the employees be successful, have good careers and help the company remain competitive," Glynn said.
Regarding philosophy, Glynn said Caterpillar wants a contract that helps it for the long haul, much as it views most everything it does. As an example, he said Caterpillar eschewed producing the same type of truck engine other manufacturers made just to quickly meet federal emissions standards and instead pursued its ACERT technology, which exceeds those standards. "The marketplace is rewarding us for that," he said. "The competitive outlook is demanding and every product we make must be competitive worldwide," he said.
Looking long range, Glynn said, makes the fact Caterpillar now is making solid profits less a factor when it comes to bargaining on wages. "It doesn't make as much difference as you might think. Of course, it would not be fair to speculate on the UAW's view," he said.
Glynn said when it comes to health-care costs and other benefits, the company must look at all employee groups, including retirees. "If we isolate one or another, we can't really see the whole picture," he said.
<http://www.lincolncourier.com/news/03/10/20/c.asp> *****
In addition, Palestinian solidarity activists working on the Cat campaigns should be aware of the following lawsuits concerning racial and sexual harassments:
***** The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 13, 2003 CONTACT: Lauren Dreilinger EEOC Trial Attorney (312) 353-7303 Gordon Waldron EEOC Trial Attorney (312) 353-7525 John C. Hendrickson EEOC Regional Attorney (312) 353-8551 TTY: (312) 353-2421
EEOC Files Two Suits Against Caterpillar for Harassment at Illinois Facilities
Pictured [at <http://www.eeoc.gov/press/caterpillar.jpg>] are Charging Party Karon Lambert (left) and EEOC Chicago Trial Attorney Lauren Dreilinger (right). Ms. Lambert's sexual harassment case resulted in EEOC's litigation against Caterpillar's Aurora facility.
Federal Agency Challenges Racial and Sexual Harassment at Joliet and Aurora Plants
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed two employment discrimination lawsuits in federal court in Chicago against Caterpillar, Inc. under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the suits, the EEOC separately alleges racial and sexual harassment at Caterpillar's facilities in Joliet and Aurora, Illinois, respectively.
Caterpillar is an international Fortune 100 company and the manufacturer of the well-known yellow Caterpillar bulldozers, earthmovers, trucks and other heavy construction equipment, with corporate headquarters and its principal manufacturing and assembly facility in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar's facility in Joliet has over 1,000 employees and there are over 2,000 employees at Aurora.
In the case involving Caterpillar's Joliet facility, the EEOC maintains that during 2000 and 2001 Caterpillar permitted the racial harassment of at least three African American employees (George Ervins, Stanley McCallum and Rickey McNeal) who worked in "Building C" of that facility. EEOC said that its administrative investigation which preceded the suit showed that, among other things, certain white employees made a practice of whistling at the African American employees as if they were dogs, and that management refused to act on complaints about the practice.
One of the Joliet employees who filed Charges with the Commission, Stanley McCallum, said, "Some of my co-workers and a supervisor repeatedly whistled at me like you would whistle at a dog. I thought it was really racially insulting and harassing. I was disappointed that, even after I complained about it, Caterpillar didn't discipline the harassers."
The EEOC said that, among the excuses Caterpillar management offered for the whistling at Black employees, was that one of the employees involved "had a sinus problem."
In the case involving the Aurora facility, EEOC alleges that a supervisor sexually harassed Safety Industrial Hygiene Supervisor Karon Lambert ("Lambert") and a class of women. EEOC also contends that Caterpillar retaliated against Lambert and other women for opposing the harassment. EEOC's investigation revealed that the sexual harassment at Aurora involved both sexually offensive propositions and comments and unwelcome inappropriate physical touching. According to EEOC, when women complained about the harassment they were fired.
"It's bad enough," Charging Party Lambert said, "that I and other women has to experience constant sexual harassment from our supervisor, but being fired for standing up for ourselves was just about as bad.". . .
<http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-13b-03.html> *****
-- Yoshie
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>
