A campaign to save 300+ jobs at a Hugo Boss plant in suburban Cleveland  resulted in victory last week when the company reversed their decision to shutter the plant!  The workers, members of Workers United Local 10, voted overwhelmingly to approve a new union contract that preserves jobs and benefits.

The campaign to save these jobs started back in January, when Hugo Boss abruptly cut off contract negotiations after workers refused a $5/hr pay cut.  The company issued a WARN Act notice that they intended to close the plant on April 27 (the NLRB later found reasonable cause to believe that the company had violated the NLRA).  Hugo Boss, a high-end clothing line, reportedly intended to shift operations to Turkey, where labor costs are cheaper.

The campaign got a boost from celebrities, politicians, and labor-community solidarity.  Actor Danny Glover recruited fellow actors to not wear Hugo Boss on the red carpet this season, and came to Ohio to speak at a major rally with the workers on April 7th.  Ohio politicians, including Senator Sherrod Brown,

Continue reading Hugo Boss Will Stay Open in Ohio

Whirlpool refrigerators.  Hugo Boss suits.  Toyota Corollas. What do they have in common? 

They’ve all been made by U.S. workers who will soon lose their jobs — if the corporate CEOs get their way.  All these major corporations work hard (and spend a lot) to promote a positive corporate image.  But they all plan to shut down their U.S. plants and shift production overseas — devastating our communities and taking advantage of workers abroad – even though these plants are profitable.  If Corporate America gets its way, good jobs with benefits and economic security will be a distant memory.

But the fight back is growing.  Jobs with Justice coalitions and our partners vow to make every plant shut-down costly and to challenge every major lay-off until we win Full and Fair Employment and a New Economy that Works for Everyone.

Last week, JwJ joined the AFL-CIO and IUE-CWA in challenging corporate greed at Whirlpool in Evansville, IN.  Thousands of workers and community residents delivered 70,000 petitions to Whirlpool, protesting Whirlpool’s plan to send these jobs to Mexico — after taking millions of dollars

Continue reading Stop Shut-Downs. Stop Lay-Offs. Stop Corporate Greed.

It wasn’t very long ago that every time you looked at a clothing label you would see “Made in the USA.”  Not only was it made in the USA but it probably also had some sort of connection to a thriving garment industry in the Cleveland area.  Names like Joseph & Feiss Co, Bobbie Brooks, Printz-Biederman, Lion Knitting Mills, and Cleveland Worsted Mill dominated the industry and union cards kept people gainfully employed.

But this good thing has come to an end.  Now Hugo Boss, the last clothing manufacturer in Cleveland, has given notice of their intent to shutter their plant and permanently lay off 400 workers at the end of April.

Hugo is closing because they want to ship the jobs to a plant in Turkey where they can pay much less than the average current rate of $12 per hour they pay Cleveland employees.

Hugo management offered to stay if the employees were willing

Continue reading Hugo Boss Threatens to Move Overseas if Workers Refuse $4/Hr Pay Cut