Departments

Peterbilt finds out
When you've taken on one, you've taken on all of us

By Jim Adams and Jack Cobb Local 1853

They came by bus, truck, automobile and plane.
More than 2,300 union members came to Madison, Tenn., Feb. 13 to support their brothers and sisters locked out by Peterbilt Motors, a company owned by Seattle-based PACCAR. Wearing union shirts and hats, UAW members proudly displayed signs to passing motorists who responded with a loud and steady stream of honks of support. Coffee cans were passed down the line to collect for the workers who exist on unemployment compensation or $200 a week in union strike insurance benefits.
The rally was held in conjunction with an International Executive Board meeting in Nashville and a town hall discussion held at Saturn Local 1853 in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The IEB decided to hold their quarterly meeting in Nashville in order to bring attention to the plight of the Peterbilt workers.

Besides UAW members, support came from the AFL-CIO, IMF, IATSE, SEIU, United Steel Workers, the Nashville Central Labor Council, the National Association of Letter Carriers, Firefighters Union, PACE, the Living Wage Committee and Jobs with Justice as well as many other groups.
Departing from buses, marchers gathered together and greeted each other with true unity and solidarity. Old friends hugged old friends and new friends hugged total strangers in one of the greatest displays of union camaraderie seen in recent years. Some knelt in prayer while others joined together in old gospel hymns.

Standing on an old red pick-up truck, Reverand James Orange of African American Renaissance opened the rally by calling on God to soften the hearts of Peterbilt managers and bring them back to the bargaining table.

"When we started this struggle, we had a little rally," Region 8 Director Gary Casteel roared to the crowd. "We barely filled the parking lot of the union hall. There are ten times more people here today than when we started."

"Look at these workers," Casteel continued. "Look at the hurt Peterbilt is putting on these families. Peterbilt, fix this problem. Come back to the bargaining table and do what's right for these people and for the working community of Nashville."

UAW International President Ron Gettelfinger told the crowd, "We want this community, this state and, yes, this nation to know what Peterbilt did to these workers here is wrong. They build the best heavy trucks in the country. These workers asked for an extension of the contract. These workers want to work."

Gettelfinger then proclaimed to Peterbilt, "If you take on one union brother or sister, you've taken on this entire union."

Elizabeth Bunn, UAW Secretary-Treasurer, listed the substantial donations the International union and other Region 8 locals had made on behalf of the Peterbilt workers. Near tears, she told the crowd about a person who just happened to be driving by and donated a check for $50.
Mike Pardue, president of Local 1832, whipped the crowd into an excited frenzy when he said, "I want to send a message to the managers of Peterbilt. You country and western fans will know what I mean when I say; "How do you like me now?"

The Metropolitan Nashville police showed sympathy with the marchers, offering support and prayers to those who attended the rally while stopping traffic to ensure that no one was hurt. This was more than a demonstration to them. It was their friends and neighbors who were suffering. With over 750 families directly affected by this lockout, merchants in the community of Madison and the surrounding areas are also feeling the pinch of our members' diminished buying power.
At the close of the rally, old friends hugged old friends goodbye. New friends hugged new friends, no longer total strangers. The crowd made its way to awaiting busses, ending a day that sparked a flame of solidarity to fuel the fight that still lay ahead.