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Eramet workers appreciate community’s support
We
steelworkers at Local 1-00639 would like to thank each and every one of
the residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley and surrounding communities who
have continued supporting us during the time we have been locked out
from our jobs at Eramet Metals. May God bless you all; you know who you
are.
To the other local unions and businesses that have come to
our aid in this fight with French-owned Eramet —you know and understand
what we are fighting against and what we are fighting for. Thank you
for your continued support, and may God bless you and your families.
For those of you who have crossed our picket line — you should know that we will not forget you either.
We
are continuing to fight for our retirees’ and their surviving spouses’
health care, our out-of-pocket medical expenses, retirement plan, and
future retiree costs.
Eramet continues to talk about a $1.71 pay
increase over the next three years. What they aren’t telling you is
that the insurance deductions, health care costs, and the 3.3 percent
of our paychecks we pay toward our retirement plan eliminate nearly all
of that modest boost to our salaries.
Eramet has not told you
that they are self-insured and control the insurance costs. They have
not told you about the millions of dollars they have made on our backs.
They have not told you about the concessions we accepted to keep the
company profitable and running.
The public needs to know about
the 75-plus imported, scab strike breakers staying at the Comfort Inn
in Marietta. They are not from here and they are not contributing to
the tax base of the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Our fellow residents in the
Mid-Ohio Valley need to know about Eramet’s broken promise of fair
negotiations by the CEO and human resource director and our union’s
good faith attempt to work under the old contract until a new one could
be negotiated. They should also know that the federal mediators have
attempted to get Eramet to meet at the bargaining table with us, but
that the company has not always been willing to meet and bargain in
good faith.
There have been 250 union employees locked out of
our jobs because of the greed of a few that are unwilling to negotiate
fairly with us. Now, hopefully, you know the truth behind this lockout.
We
are your neighbors. We worship with you. We patronize your businesses.
We didn’t want this situation; remember we wanted to continue working
and bargaining.
Again thank you, Mid-Ohio Valley, for your support. And may God bless you.
Steve Brown
Marietta
Telesis class says thanks
to all who helped on expo
On the evening of Jan. 23, an event known as Community Expo Night was held at Washington State Community College.
This
event was hosted by the Telesis Class of 2007, which is a community
leadership program of the Marietta Chamber of Commerce. Thirty-eight
civic, volunteer, and community organizations gathered together for
this event. The expo offered not only the public, but those
organizations in attendance an opportunity to learn and gather
information about each other and the numerous projects and missions
each of them have.
The Telesis Class of 2007 would like to thank
the following organizations for their support in helping make Community
Expo Night such a great event: Washington State Community College for
the use of their facility, The Marietta Times for their generous
advertising, WTAP’s “Daybreak” and WMOA’s “Talk of the Town” for
helping get the word out, and all the local business that allowed us to
post flyers about the expo.
A special thank-you to the 38 groups
and their volunteers who staffed the booths for the expo: American Red
Cross of Washington County, Betsey Mills Club, CAP Armory, The Caring
Connection, COAD, Zonta Club of Marietta, Ely Chapman, EVE Inc.,
Friends of Campus Martius Museum, Girl Scout Heart of Ohio Council, The
Right Path, Greater Marietta United Way, Humane Society of the Ohio
VAlley, Pioneer Ladies Civitan, Marietta Civitan Club, Kiwanis Club of
Marietta, Marietta Community Foundation, Friends of Lower Muskingum River
Watershed, Marietta Morning Rotary, Marietta Noon Lions, Marietta Noon
Rotary, Marietta Rowing and Cycling, SCORE, Marietta Toastmasters,
Marietta Welfare League, Ohio State University Extension Office, 4-H,
O’Neill Senior Center, Reno Lions Club, Retired Senior Volunteer
Program, Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, Sons of the American
Revolution, Telesis/TAN, Upward Bound, Washington County Habitat for
Humanity, Washington County Historical Society, Washington State
Community College Learning Center, YMCA, and Young Emerging Leaders.
Steve Porter
Telesis Class 2007
Smoking ban flap diverts attention from other woes
The next thing you cry babies will try to do is ban smoking in our cars.
Looks
like you people are more interested in banning people from smoking than
you are about your children out there doing drugs and drinking. I mean,
what some of you may not know is that your child smokes behind your
back.
I think that is too funny.
Sherry Fulton
Vincent
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