Union continues holiday tradition

From the Centralia Fireside Guard
by James Smith

The labor union at Centralia's Hubbell facility continued a long-standing tradition for another year.

Along with his fellow union officers, Matt Jackson, president of local 86821 IUE CWA, helped pass out 439 frozen turkeys to union members and retirees.

"We've been doing this for as long as I can remember," said Jackson, who has been in the union for 19 years, and its president for six years.

Some union retirees thought the tradition had started between 20 and 25 years ago.

"People appreciate it," said Jackson. "Today not a whole lot of things are free."

But the happiness and shared camaraderie of the event was leavened for Jackson and others by what Jackson described as attempts by Hubbell to undermine its labor contract with the union and push members with seniority out of the company.

Jackson said the company is ignoring the contract's seniority sections when calling back laid off employees and calling back low seniority employees over those who have been with the company longer.

Fireside Guard e-mails and telephone inquiries made at the local corporate level regarding this issue were forwarded to the Hubbell corporate offices in Orange, Conn., No response had been received by press time.

"We will probably have to go into arbitration over this," he said. "They are saying they interpret the contract differently than we do."

Jackson described it as a trend to shift jobs across the border to Hubbell's Juarez, Mexico, facility. "Workers there get paid the equivalent of $3.35 an hour, including benefits," he said. "We're down to just 362 workers here... this world economy stuff is killing us. When people can get on the internet and shop abroad and buy stuff at third world prices ... Soon we won't have jobs here to make any money to purchase anything. It is not just this company alone."

Jackson said that Hubbell is changing some of the local lines to ones that will feature automated production. "We are purchasing and installing computer-operated robots," said Jackson. "But they will be run by one employee and pretty much do the work currently done by four welders for example. We are not building more production robots to sell to other companies."

Again the Guard was unable to get Hubbell officials to comment on this matter.

Meanwhile the union continues to hand out holiday turkeys from a table in the back of Prenger Foods, to what members it still has. This year it handed out, 345 to active members and 94 to retirees. Some active members deliver the turkeys to retirees who have left the area. Some turn around donate them to the Centralia Senior Center, said Terry King, recording secretary.

She said one former union president took one for old friends he used to work with who retired to St. Charles.

Others enjoy them at home. "I think this is wonderful, we've been doing it for years," said Micki Nothcutt, who for the last 13 years has been a union welder for the company. "This is what the union and holidays are all about, people taking care of each other."