Recently, Hoffa Jr. visited Teamster Local 406 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. J.T. Battenberg, the CEO of Delphi, visited our homey little plant in the sticks, but we have never seen Yokich or Shoemaker. Our Regional Director, George Andros, will meet with corporate honchos, but not the rank and file. In the old days disputes were resolved at the point of origin, the shop floor. Speedups crashed against reinforced walls of resistance called solidarity slow downs.
Workers didn t rely on the wily connivings of backroom negotiators.
Union members didn t count on shyster legalese to weave a path of least resistance through the greased palms. Labor didn t plead. Labor shut down, sat down, and occupied. Heavy handed foremen encountered sledge hammer retaliation. When management wouldn t cooperate, labor wouldn t work.