WEBVTT

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[sil.]

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In 1980, the Gary Hammond, South Chicago industrial area,
one of the largest steel working complexes in the world

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was in a deep recession. From
the relatively good times

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of the early 1970s, unemployment has
tripled. The prime interest rate has soared

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to 18% and capital investment in
steel and its related industries

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have dropped by half. Hammond, Indiana
at the area center had since 1970,

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lost 13% of its population of 108,000.

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30% of its small businesses

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and over half of its 8300
jobs in fabricated metals.

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This film is the story of one small plant in Hammond and the
efforts of its union and its management to try to save it.

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In 1873, S.G Taylor founded
the Taylor Chain company

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and it was family owned and
operated until 1980. Its workforce

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often had many generations of the
same family and was not unionized

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until 1967 by the United
Steel Workers of America.

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Taylor Chain manufactured
and repaired chain

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for the surrounding steel industry and
produced a line of consumer chains

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sold in hardware stores.

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In the early 1970s, when profited were high,
the company employed over 200 workers.

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But by the summer of 1980,

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Japanese competition in the consumer
market, a depressed steel industry

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and inefficient management had brought Taylor Chain to the
edge of bankruptcy with only 12 workers left in the plant.

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[sil.]

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If it does close, I’m gonna miss it.
It’s a hard thing to express.

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Small plant like this is going
under for lack of management,

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lack of production. It’s like a
family dying or family splitting up.

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You just don’t know what to do anymore.

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[sil.]

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Here you go.

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It’s my company as much as it is
management. I’m like Ted here.

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I’m a 58 years old, open
heart surgery patient.

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Uh… I have no chance uh… to
get a job any place else.

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So I, I have to care.

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The old man was an electrical engineer and there
was nothing that you could pull off on him.

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He knew his chain, he knew his
electricity and he knew his business.

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But when the sun took over,
you try to explain to him…

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He shake his head and walk away and uh…
one day Taylor appointed a certain man

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president of the company. This joker
ran the company down into the ground.

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Now the way he did it was by running the stock down,
cutting the workforce down, cutting the parts orders down.

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So that first year, doubled company’s
profit. How about three years later.

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Right, but they (inaudible) wasn’t a shrewd enough
manager to realize what, how this man had made that,

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that profit. You know, they
approached the union to buy the plant

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but the union didn’t have the money to buy it the
local. And the reason, why I wasn’t sucked into this

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is because I know we can’t run. If it was strictly the
employees inside, I know, we can get a 150% effort

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from every one of them to run that plant. But
what it is, is you have to have the banking

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and the financial institutes with the faith
and trust in you that you can do it.

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I mean, a banker is gonna look at me and say, hey you’re just a
worker. You may be a great inspector, you may be a great welder

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but you’re no businessman and, and
for overall, true value, he’s right.

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And what we need is top management
to do top management’s job.

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Middle management to do middle management’s job
because we are fully capable of doing our job.

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In the fall of 1980, Taylor Chain was saved

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from closing when the Taylor family sold the company to
new owners. The new management brought the workforce

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back to 100 and the union agreed
to a one year wage freeze.

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The new owners said that with the company’s
century old reputation for quality

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and the cooperation of its skilled and dedicated
workforce, Taylor Chain could be saved.

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The workers were optimistic.

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Now the new management has taken over, they
listen to the employees and they try to

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get points from the employees which is going
to help them in the future. And I hope it does

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because my job depends on it too.
One of the things that

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uh… we try to do to improve productivity and
cut costs is to modernize this old furnace.

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Now, the furnace not only comes up quickly
to temperature but you conserve gas energy

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because it’s a super insulated.

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When I first came to Taylor, they had this equipment
up for sale because there were concerns that

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it would never run. It really never ran
because nobody knew how to maintain it.

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Now, this is the most efficient
equipment we have for making chains

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in Taylor chains. When we
cut back the product line,

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we ended up with some obsolete materials that we had
to figure out how to use rather than throw it away.

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So we reached out to the people on
the floor, how can we use this rod?

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Well, I suggested they cut it in pins,

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tumble it and clean it
and, and blank feed them

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and make chain out of them. Otherwise,
it, it would have gone for scrap.

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[sil.]

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This country is facing

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a different kind of an industrial
revolution. The worker has to be involved

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with what’s going on in the company to make a contribution
not only to help the company but to satisfy himself.

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[sil.]

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The workforce is proud of the product that
they build. My orientation is working with

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the people and involving them
in the business, totally.

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I think the membership in that plant is
what uh… caused the new company to buy.

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I don’t think there is any doubt about that. They
knew those people would work and they wanted to work

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and we’re willing to do anything
within reason to keep that plant open.

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Even with the local history of militance. Even, even with, even with
that. Of course, we all know that we went through a real rough period.

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Three or four years where wildcat
strikes we had, legal strikes.

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But that goes within a union when it first
formed. You can go to a period like this until,

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you get your membership together, as a
unit working together until the company

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becomes convinced that the people are a union and they
are gonna stick together and they have to deal with them

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and they have to deal with them across the
table and dealing with them fairly and justly.

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But soon after the new
management took over,

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despite the cooperation between the company and
the union, Taylor Chain was again in trouble.

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The economic recession deepened dramatically
particularly in the steel industry

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and in the spring of 1981, the
company demanded a 10% wage cut.

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The union reluctantly voted to accept the cut
hoping to prevent layoffs and save the plant.

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But the economy continued to
decline and within six months

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over half the one hundred
workers were laid off.

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As the October contract negotiations approached,
the fate of the plant was again uncertain.

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We’ve done everything we can.
We took a 10% cut.

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Now our people are being laid
off, reduction of work all over.

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I mean, there is uh… all kinds
of feelings, emotional,

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mixed emotions in here, right now.

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We’re all being shipped around from one place
to the other one. They try to make it look like

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things are really down and down. But
really, I don’t think so. They’ve been,

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how would you say, going bankrupt before

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ten years, haven’t made it yet. The union has done
everything. They, they’ve been over backwards

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in trying to help the company, you know,
in a lot of different financial situations

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and they are still gonna work with that. So
they lost a 10% and they also lost their jobs.

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So I don’t think the union can do anymore out
here, you know. They just have to keep on

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trying to protect the people as best as they can.
That’s all a union can do. It’s up to the company now.

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The company is not yet safe. We are
still climbing that loss curve.

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But we built upon between
management and workers

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which is a covenant that says,

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we’re all gonna work together to save the company. So
how do you do the negotiations that are coming up?

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Oh, right now, we’re
looking forward to that

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because there are some things that we’d like to change
in the contract to make the company more flexible

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relative to work loads. Uh… right
now, I can’t offer a thing in money

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because we aren’t even in the black yet.
But we can talk about

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how we are gonna share the wealth when we do get in
the black and that’s something that has to be faced.

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The negotiations for a new contract
were conducted in a nearby motel.

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On the first day, the company presented its
financial position. At the second meeting,

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the union asked for the 10% pay
cut to be restored, a 5% raise

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and improvements in healthcare, pensions and working conditions.
It should have been done and could have been done in the plant.

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And anyways… But the union objects to
the company’s contracting out of work

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that could be performed by union members.
And when I and Mary Mag did

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custody work at that time, we also cleaned
upstairs in the conference room up there.

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Things used to be different, you know, you had two,
four time custodian because you had 200 people

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almost working in the plant. She is right.
You used to put that away from the union

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and give it to the person that you
have coming and clean up the office.

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Wait a minute, wait a minute, it’s something else coming out here.
What gave you the right to take that away from and get another

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custodian to come and do that if that was always
bothering you at work. You didn’t have that right.

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We always have things come out,
come down if it wouldn’t work.

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And let me tell you something else that happened. When they got
a very important meeting, they’ll tell one of our employees

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go upstairs and mob up there, clean up those
rooms. Let me ask you something, do you have,

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do you have a custodial outside custodial coming in that
plant now? We explained how this whole situation started.

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Okay. Back in the 70s, the company felt

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that the hourly employees were getting all
kind of information out of the office.

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All right. You correct me if I’m wrong.
And the union come back and say,

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hey, if you don’t trust the hourly employees
get somebody else to clean the damn office.

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And that’s exactly what the hell the
management did. And ever since that time John,

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we’ve had our own part-time office cleaner. You’re
asking these questions and making these statements

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but they know about it. If you don’t, I’m
sorry. Well, I know, I don’t because no way,

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this union sit back and give away our
damn jobs. They should in this case.

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Well, I don’t know about that either. It was given away
when the other one was president, I want you to know.

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After lunch, the company
demands contract concessions

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including the removal of language that restricts
their freedom to hire part-time workers.

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The union feels that these contract concessions will not
solve the company’s problems and rejects most of them.

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Half of the stuff here is bad management,

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laziness on the company, stupidity. Well, I understand why
it’s your position as everything is wrong with Taylor Chain

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while standing on the shoulders of management.
That’s fine. And we can spend today,

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the next two weeks or the next six
months arguing that particular point.

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All right. If you want to.

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I think that management looks at these negotiations
and they’re thinking they may have made a mistake.

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They shouldn’t have asked those employees
for the 10% wage reduction in April

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and just let the client go. And why in the heck extend that
plan just for another six month? Doesn’t make any sense,

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so maybe we did make a mistake.
Well, it’s very possible,

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the people made a mistake too. I’m sure, there is a lot of people that
got laid off since then, and probably wish they had their vote again.

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Because they got laid off anyway without any
hopes to return into work, so it was immaterial

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whether the plant shut down or you get
laid off. What difference does that make?

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Okay, let me say something. You got item
one over here where you want the word

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part-time removed, right. Well, I
would say about two months ago,

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what is this? October.

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Lian called us in his office
and he had a job to do.

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He wanted to use our people for that job.
But you wanted them as part-time people

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and didn’t want to pay them our
union scale. So we disagree

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and this is what I’m getting from this.
First thing you know, you’ve got 40 people

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working part-time and 20 people working 32 hours a
week. And these people are not paying any dues.

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You won’t keep them long
enough to pay any dues,

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you reckon a union and we’re not gonna be a party to
it. God damn it, we just can’t give and give and give.

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Well, if we gave you the language, we
don’t even have a contract anymore.

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We don’t have, we don’t have it, Chris. Look, we’ve
done everything possible. Increase production,

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given your wage cuts, doing everything to keep that
plant going. But we’re not gonna give you that.

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Now if I accept all your nos,

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the way Mr. Bierman wants me to accept them,
then I only have one thing to look at.

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I know that, that tomorrow morning, when we
make a link of chain, it’s gonna cost x.

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All right.

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And on November one, if we have a
contract, it’s gonna cost x plus.

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That’s fine. But for you to
sit there and tell us about

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the chain going up in price, I
know, it’s gonna go up in price.

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Everything else is going up in price.
We told you everything in this contract

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is subject to change. But I’m not gonna sit
on this side and say, I’m gonna take this out

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and this out and this out and then you
give us a nickel or a penny. No way.

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For there are people too out there.
And it is me out there too.

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Maybe, I’m wrong, Bierman,
if I am, be my guest.

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This is like the same horseplay, you did
last year. Well, I’ll tell you what. I…

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Same horse and bargain at the other side.

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I haven’t seen one change, one eye over in
your bargain What have we seen from you?

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It’s nothing. Just a bunch of BS. If
we’re going to give you any proposals,

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we’ll give them to you. Look, if we
were to go in there with this language,

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and there was no money in return or so
damn low, it wouldn’t really matter,

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it would be all over. You know,
what happen if we have a strike.

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You have assurances on the side of
the table when you reach a point,

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a problem that is so significant, it has to be some
adjustments or changes that make sense to the union.

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It’s nothing it says that we
can’t talk to you about it.

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But we’re not gonna give you a license
to steal. You’re not gonna get it.

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You know uh… it wasn’t too long ago when Mr.
(inaudible) was here that almost the same

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proposals were given to us. It was
just like given up this contract.

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So we put it up on the board and
the people were fighting mad,

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and it’s almost the same thing
right now you’re asking us to do.

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I say, there is some things that can be changed
but I want to see the money on the table.

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[sil.]

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The fourth day.

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The union waits for the company bargaining team to
arrive. The company has agreed to make a money offer.

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[sil.]

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Okay,

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we should make a proposal that should be
considered by the union as a last offer.

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Before we do that, a couple
of other people in my team

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will like to make a few comments. I
think Jerry will like to do that.

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Uh… before I started at Taylor Chain
Jack, I talked to our (inaudible).

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How he spelt out a challenge.
Taylor Chain had seen better times,

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past managements really did
not take care of the facility

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and the people as they should have
taken care of. But many of the people

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that are with the company
feel that company once more

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could stabilize and grow.
So I went home after

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last negotiations and I
stayed up most of the night

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reading sort of contract. What I’ve seen in
the contract is really many, many faces that

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I have not met. People that were involved

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in writing the language of the contract
before how I came to Taylor chain.

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Anyway, reading through the
contract and listening

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to what I have heard down here and
what I already witnessed in the plant.

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I want the union to know and you to know Jack
that I can live with the language of the contract

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as it is right now.

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I can, CAN. I don’t see any need
to change anything in there

00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
provided that management and myself

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
retain the relationship
with the bargaining group

00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
and I would be willing to continue
that working relationship.

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
You’re just reiterating what we said all
along. I will give the company credit

00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
to this extent in the last
four years particularly

00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
during these hard times at Taylor chain company and
they’ve never once blamed the union for the problems,

00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
financial problems they have in their plant. We
felt as there is no way we could go any further

00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
with the language because the only way this
plant is gonna survive is working as a team.

00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
Now, this company

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
feels that it has to do something to tell
you that they appreciate the cooperation

00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
that they’ve received from the
union and our proposal is this.

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
A one year contract,
effective November 1, 1981.

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
We will go back to the salary
schedule that was in effect

00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
prior the 10% cut. Reduce
that salary schedule by 9%

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
and pay that out for one quarter.
Short hand the phrase

00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
1% a quarter non-cumulative.
That’s 4% rate.

00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
Yes, over a year, quarter basis.
Why not just give it back

00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
instead of per quarter, just all at once? Because
we can’t afford to give it all back at once

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
and that’s the way we set. All right,
why don’t you give us some confidence,

00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
so we can discuss this matter.

00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
I get what, 24 cent in a year, man.
I’ll tell you something about that.

00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
We can live with the contract too because we
wrote it. But that don’t mean that we didn’t

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
even change some of that benefits in there.
Well, what about the laid off people?

00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
What are we going to do for laid off
people: To give them section B.

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
It’s not much but it’s something.

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
It talk about the insurance when a person gets laid
off for one month, right. Because I’m telling you,

00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
it’s hard on our people. When they get laid off one
day and the next day they have to come in with

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
uh… a hundred or some dollars to pay their insurance.
Well, why don’t we put this card on the table

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
and tell them the money that we all have
to give that some more consideration.

00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
But I can’t see this one percent. What if
we could get them to move in a direction

00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
to give it all at one time? Oh, it’s 5%.

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
What’s your bottomline?

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
All we said is we would try to get back.

00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
You’re gonna accept 1%? I didn’t say that. No,
I’m just asking. Would you accept that 1%?

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
Would you? No. See, we have had to think
about it. I’m just giving a decision.

00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
I want to figure this out myself first and I can’t
figure it out in the state of mind right now.

00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
I’m going home and read it over. And I’m gonna
check these year’s pay wages back here.

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
That’s what you should too.
We do have some problems.

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
After the cocus the union asks the company for a one month
extension of the health insurance for workers who are laid off

00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
and to reconsider the money offered.
As far as the money goes,

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
I feel like we got to have it like at one time. Giving
it back 4% when you took out a 10% all at one time.

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
It’s kind of hard to swallow. So we
want you to take another look at that.

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
[sil.]

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
I’m not basically a rude person and I don’t think you’re
basically a rude person. So I’m not gonna get up and walk out

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
of this room. But I do
want to reiterate for you.

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
That what I said this morning

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
is the final position of this
company with respect to money

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
and fringe benefits.

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
That money is the money and
I, that’s all I can say.

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
We will come back here on Wednesday. You know, you and I one
way or another are gonna walk away from these things Steve.

00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
We’re not gonna be in that plan. The other people
that stay are gonna have to live with what’s done.

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
You wanted just what point in
time, the membership is gonna say

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
enough is enough. I really do. You’re
not asking us something that’s easy.

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
On the fifth day, the company promises
to extend the health insurance

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
if the union negotiating team will recommend the
contract to the membership. But they refused

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
to offer more money. The union holds a cocus. If you
are just gonna go in there without recommending…

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
They must decide whether or not to recommend the company’s
final offer. I have to have time to think about this

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
because this one percent at a
time, we’re heading on nothing

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
and they still haven’t see if they are going to go along with
insurance. They get you the insurance if you recommend the other.

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
He says, I can’t give it to you.

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
That was their final offer
and then I gonna move.

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
[sil.]

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
All right, Wally, what’s your opinion?

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
You’ve really forced in recommending it

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
because he’s gonna take it anyway. I mean, hey,
these people at Taylor Chains are not stupid.

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
I don’t care what anybody thinks
because we went along so damn far

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
but they still have to make a living and there
is nothing outside. Now, if they don’t want it,

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
they’ll tell you right out no way.
And they aren’t afraid to tell you.

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
The 4% at one time is definitely out.

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
John, that don’t mean that those people are gonna
accept it. I know it. If they don’t want it,

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
they don’t want it.

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
Well, but what if we don’t accept it John.
I just say, we tell him no,

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
we’re not gonna, we’re not gonna accept
it and they all go, they lose this.

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
It’s up to you.

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
I’ll go along. I want to go along. Okay.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
But it’s with the, that they get this.
Okay. All right.

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
Okay. Then this is the way we’ll do it.

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
I’ll take the heat. We’ll
all take the heat. I mean…

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
I didn’t like a lot of times
but I wasn’t alone. I did.

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:18.000
[sil.]

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
You and I know, you can’t find a job in this area. So
what are we gonna do? Maybe this should be the last year

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
that we have to go through this.

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
Once again, the negotiations are
always difficult to do or change.

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
I have always appreciated the manner in which you
carried on negotiations but today if this plant

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
does get on its feet, we gonna howl hall way
more to his word because we have a long members.

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
God willing, we will be
here next year. Okay.

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
[sil.]

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
Two days later, the union met to vote on the
contract proposal. But they would then carry you

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
for an additional month of
your insurance and by the way…

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
The negotiating committee has recommended
that the membership accept the contract.

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
The contract preserves all of the union’s
previously one language for three years.

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
There were no concessions. The
money agreement is for one year

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
and though it does include 30% of health insurance for
workers who get laid off, the 1% per quarter raise

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
fails to get back much of the 10% cut
the membership took in May of 1981.

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
Wait, wait, let me say something. We go
through the contract and try to find areas

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
that we think need improvement. We ask for all these
things. We know, we aren’t going to get them.

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
By the same token the company comes
back with about 18 different things,

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
they ask for that they know, they aren’t gonna get. But that’s
part of bargain. You keep trying to get as much as you can.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
Wait a minute, there is two other people that
have their hands raised. I’m one of those two

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
and then we’re gonna have a vote.
Back there and you, we’ll get you.

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
Now the talk is that they just as well run the plant with
what workers they have there and they don’t need more.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
No, I don’t think that’s true because I
walk through the plant with Jerry today

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
and he felt that this was uh… gonna be better and
they were gonna be able to call more people back.

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
Why are they giving us the 4% quarterly

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
instead of giving it all to us at one time?

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
The last proposal we made was to
put the 4% up front and they said,

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
we are still not making money, we’re still losing money. But as
a token, we feel that we could not come back to these people

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
without giving them something.

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
All right, come on. If you accept the
recommendation of your committee

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
to accept this proposal, then you vote yes.
If you want to strike, you vote no.

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
And we’ll start with one aisle at a time.
One aisle.

00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:08.000
[sil.]

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
How is your baby doing? All right.

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
Let me have your attention.
It was uh… 80 votes cast.

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
It was 62 to accept and 18 to reject.

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
So you do have an agreement.
62 to 18 in favor.

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:38.000
[sil.]

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
What’s the situation today? Well, it really is no
better. We had to give them another year extension

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
on their contract. We didn’t
get any benefits or anything.

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
We just accepted it as it was. And
it really don’t look any better.

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
Nine people were laid off yesterday

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
and I think there is 17 left. Now
we’re right down to the nitty-gritty.

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
So, I don’t know how long it’s gonna last.

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
I mean, we’re working day by day over here. Everybody has
tried awfully hard to try to make a go but you know,

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
everyday, you read the paper, other plants
that have been having these problems,

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
you know and yet we are struggling
alone day by day, you know.

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
Conditions are so tight right now that the
bank has said, we want to get as much box in

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
as we can to keep the line liquid.
The future looks bleak

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
right at this point in time. If conditions
stay like they are, we probably won’t make it.

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:48.000
[sil.]

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
Five months later in April of 1983, Howie Moore and
the new management were forced to declare bankruptcy

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
and close the plant. The workers who
were left lost their vacation pay

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:05.000
to the bankrupt company but the union
was able to protect everyone’s pension.