TN Workers Reject CASCO Attempt to Cut Benefits, Move Plant

By , on December 21st, 2010

Since mid-August, Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee has been in solidarity with workers at ARC Automotive and CASCO PRODUCTS CORP who are in contract negotiations with Workers United.

The company’s proposals included freezing employees’ wages for 3 years, eliminating future pension benefits, drastically increasing employee contributions for health insurance while cutting benefits at the same time, using low wage “temporary” workers in place of regular employees, and eliminating basic employee rights on the job.

Most outrageous were their heavy-handed threats to move the plant elsewhere if the workers did not agree to their demands.

CASCO and their president, Ali El-Haj, are another example of corporate America’s “race to the bottom”, where jobs are moved to where workers are paid the least and have the fewest rights.

The hardworking men and women employed by ARC deserve fair pay and benefits for their labor. They have a basic right to fair, even handed treatment.  They are entitled to work free from threats to their jobs for simply standing up for themselves and their families.

After rallying on Saturday, the membership rejected the Company’s proposal by a vote of 69 to 1. They were very resolved to stand up to the Company’s

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December 21st, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Unions | Comments are closed

Hugo Boss Will Stay Open in Ohio

By , on April 26th, 2010

Rally PhotosA 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, Governor Ted Strickand, Representative Dennis Kucinich, and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, were

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April 26th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Everything Else | Comments are closed

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

By , on February 3rd, 2010

Clevelanders Protest the Closing of Hugo BossIt 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 to cut pay to $8 an hour.

Maybe there should be a new rule—no more pay cuts anywhere

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February 3rd, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Economy, Unions | Comments are closed