The Cons are Mouthpieces for Management
The Concession Caucus (Cons) went into negotiations at American Axle with a strategy: soften workers up for the take down.
It took a long time. Maybe too long. Before, strikers were indignant. But now, the Cons have sharpened that anger with the abrasion of betrayal, honed it razor thin with the strop of deceit, and hardened its seething blade in cold disregard. The hiss of the crowd could be heard a block from the info meeting.
The Concession Caucus led by Settles and Gettelfinger never did a damn thing to help the strikers. They didn’t double the strike pay. They didn’t demonstrate any leadership on the front lines. They didn’t earn credibility. Just the opposite.
Why should the rank and file believe in the Con’s fear mongering?
If strikers vote for ratification, they’ll do it out of disgust with the Cons in control of the UAW. Neither fear, nor defeat, nor lack of heart will guide their decision. They weren’t beaten on the picket line, they were undermined.
While the strike helped GM reduce inventory, the Cons were mum. But when the strike sank its teeth into the Corp’s carotid artery, the Cons turned on the strikers with a vengeance and spit Dick Dauch’s words into their faces.
The Cons are mouthpieces for management.
At Delphi the Cons always referred to the threat of the bankruptcy judge and the harsh measure his court could impose. But American Axle isn’t bankrupt, they’re profitable. So the Cons have to resort to Dick Dauch’s fantasies as a backdrop to the cutthroat buy off.
Wages cut, benefits slashed, pensions frozen. GM workers be warned. You’ve already been delphied. You don’t think you’ll get axled?
The Concession Train won’t stop until it meets an immovable rank and file.
American Axle is not an isolated struggle. It’s a blow to all labor.
Fight the battle now that cannot be fought later.
Stay Solid!
—Soldiers of Solidarity (SOS)