By a vote of 112-59 striking Machinists union members agreed to go back to work on January 18, ending a two-month strike against Manitowoc Crane. Members accepted a four-year contract that does away with mandatory dues and requires the IAM earn the support (and dues) of Manitowoc workers on an annual basis. The contract also includes a 2% annual pay increase in each of the four years and a $250 signing bonus. Of course the union campaigned hard to convince its Manitowoc members that giving workers freedom of choice and the power to withhold dues is a bad thing that inevitably leads to the erosion of pay and benefits. Several news outlets reported that supporters of the new contract were reluctant to go on camera or give their names to reporters. Those who were willing to be interviewed were those who would rather stay out on strike. “If anyone doesn’t want to belong to this union, they should go work somewhere else,” said Leon Gauthier, a Manitowoc machinist for 25 years. The company agreed to a shortened annual opt-out window in return for a $250 signing bonus. Otherwise the tentative agreement is essentially the same as what the company had on the table at the start of the strike. Manitowoc strikers received $150-$200 a week in strike benefits in lieu of their average $20/hr paychecks and concerns were growing that the company would hire permanent replacements. And according to Labor Notes, the strikers received little support from their union brothers and sisters in Wisconsin beyond the formation of a “support committee” that went nowhere as Wisconsin labor gave all its attention the past two months to the Walker recall effort. Three unions inside Manitowoc Crane made only the symbolic gesture of wearing black armbands to work, even though their contracts allow them to honor picket lines. One observer blamed the Machinists union for not soliciting help and following through on offers, saying their strike strategy seemed stuck in past decades: “Go on strike and stand on the picket line till you lose.” If you remember, in November of 2010 thirty-two IAM strikers were permanently replaced after seven months out against Merrill Manufacturing in Merrill, Wisconsin when the IAM cut a deal to end that strike in return for the assurance that the union would be able to collect dues from replacement workers.
