IAMAW International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger and Eastern Territory Vice President Lynn Tucker, along with other members of the Executive Council, joined hundreds of IAM members and supporters on the picket line at the Standard - Knapp company today to give support for members of IAM Local 782 who have been on strike since August 16.    

     Management wanted the union to agree to cutting the work force by 50%. They demanded an end to provisions which gave union workers an opportunity, working jointly with management, to examine cost issues and devise better work methods to keep work in-house. As one worker put it at the contract vote meeting: "We’ve tried everything we can to work with these people. But they’re not interested."

     The management-proposed contract would also remove recall rights for workers laid off during Standard-Knapp’s "down-sizing" and force workers to sign legal waivers in order to get a modest severance package. It would allow management to hire new employees after laying off those with decades of service, or bring vendor employees right into the plant to do work previously done by Standard-Knapp workers.

     The company’s "offer" also cut vacation time and over-time pay, eliminated personal days, and greatly increases employee medical costs. Annual raises of 2 to 4 percent during the life of the agreement would be based on "merit," but without allowing employees to dispute the decision through the grievance procedure.

     It is the union’s belief that during negotiations, Standard-Knapp management also violated federal labor laws in a number of ways. The IAM will be filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board shortly. These violations had a significant effect on members voting to strike to protect their legal rights. 

     IAM District 26 Directing Business Representative Everett Corey said this: "The workers of Standard-Knapp are a seasoned, senior team. Most of our members there are age 50 or older, with twenty or more years of loyal service. They’ve given their all for this company over many years. What do they get in return? A slap in the face and a knife in the back. Not only does the company want to gut the contract, they violate the law in the process. Our members responded in the only way they could. Hopefully, management will now come to their senses, and get back to the table with an appropriate offer."