Scape Goats

 There have been numerous discriminatory actions against the 5 terminated Bargaining Committee members. These range from disparate treatment by the Company, when they chose to terminate only 5 members of the Bargaining Committee and when they reinstated the other (5) five Union officers under the pretense that they were misled by  us. In fact, if you look at statements taken by management from employees in the plant, it is evident the (5) reinstated officers and the remaining Bargaining Committee members were as actively involved in the Strike Action as the terminated  Bargaining Committee members. By no means are we saying our Brothers and Sisters should be subjected to this unjust treatment. We just wanted to establish the facts.

 

Action from a group in our local Union has been taken to have us removed from office. This action will ruin any chance we have of a fair arbitration hearing.

 

The local's President is leading this charge along with people he has appointed to positions inside our local. He is abusing his authority by saying he's just doing what the by-laws give him the right to do. Open positions in our local can be temporarily filled until an election is held. Most if not all of these appointed positions have been open for six months.

 

The International UAW has basically found us guilty of conduct unbecoming a union member before we even had a trial. In an appeal the IEB stated we misled workers by telling them our strike action was sanctioned. At the recent Trial that was held against the 5 terminated bargaining committee members, there was not one witness presented that alledged we told them the strike was sanctioned. On the contrary we made sure every member understood clearly that the action was not backed but our (concessionary caucus) International UAW. This UAW Local and it's membership was strong enough to stand against our employer to accomplish our goals.It is sad we could not get the support of our International Union in this time of dire need.

 

Soldiers of Solidarity

Through this whole ordeal one thing has held true. The (5) of us have remained, In Solidarity. We tried to give the International time to come to our rescue as they promised. Remember " No wounded soldier will be left behind."  We may have erred in our judgement of the International UAW and their stance on Solidarity but it wont change the facts. We were falsely accused of wrong doing by the Company, the International and some selfish members of our local.  We are being told that our arbitration case will probably be heard in the next 1-2 months. We are excitedly awaiting the chance to tell the story without the lies that Freightliner and the International UAW are trying to represent as the truth. We have given our International Union ample time to fairly represent us. We have overlooked the lies that many people have been telling. It is evident that the only chance we have to be vindicated is if we expose the Liars publicly. The system may have broken down but we will remain " Soldiers of Solidarity".   

 

If you would like more insight into the International UAW visit our Brothers and Sisters at :

www.soldiersofsolidarity.com

www.factoryrat.com

www.futureoftheunion.com

www.uniondemocracy.org

www.labornotes.org

www.dissidentvoice.org

http://www.labournet.net/world/0412/cat1.html

www.labornet.org

 

Many Labor activists are in the process of getting resolutions adopted in their Local Union on our behalf. The resolutions are available here!

www.justice4five.com/images88/Resolution_to_UAW_Local.pdf

www.justice4five.com/images88/Resolutions_to_Freightliner.pdf

 

 

 

 

Shocking Developments

53 members of our Local, (total membership of approximately 3000) brought charges against the five terminated Bargaining Committee members even though the strike committee which consists of the Bargaining Committee and the Executive board of our Local Union along with our President were involved in the decision to take strike action.

Our Local Unions Executive Board deemed the charges to be improper due to the lack of direct evidence. Evidence is supposed to accompany charges. No trial was ordered. Their decision was based on the International UAW's Constitution, Article 31 section 3e. Upon a members appeal to the International Executive Board it was decided by Ron Gettelfinger and his appointed E Board that we did in fact piss them off and we should be hung by the neck till dead. Well that's not exactly what they said, but you get the point.  Early on in this whole messed up affair Gary Casteel,  Director, Region 8, International UAW said "We will not leave wounded soldiers behind."  This is probably the only true statement we have heard from the International UAW in six months. Actually what makes this a true statement is that there have been no wounded soldiers left behind because everyone in the International UAW we came in contact with has effectively put a bullet in our head. 

A Trial Committee was selected at our October membership meeting. Our membership meetings take place the second Saturday of every month per our Local Union By-Laws. Please feel free to drop our Local President an e-mail in support of solidarity or lack there of from our International Union and the 53 confused Union members.  President@uawlocal3520.org

This action was defeated on October 13, 2007 at our monthly membership meeting. Our membership also voted not to pursue a trial that was ordered by the International UAW. The highest authority spoke. However, the president of our local proceeded with the trial committee selection. He stated that the International UAW would have to determine if we would proceed with the trial. Do you think the International UAW will accept the decision of our membership?

Well they did not. However, the Trial is over. The accused were found not guilty by a jury of our peers.