:: rawblogXport ::

:: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 ::

Cat power: Unwillingness to strike at Caterpillar signals shift that has lessened union's influence By Jan Dennis, AP
PEORIA, Ill. -- Twice in eight months, Caterpillar Inc. workers have crushed take-it-or-leave-it contract offers, then headed back to production lines instead of setting up picket lines.

With just one fleeting whiff of a strike so far, the on-the-job standoff is rare for Peoria-based Caterpillar and the United Auto Workers, who have agreed to only two contracts without a work stoppage in more than a half-century of bargaining.

Labor experts say the deadlock is rooted in a power shift that has given management the upper hand over the last quarter-century, as U.S. union membership waned and the 1981 firing of federal air traffic controllers emboldened companies to counter strikes with replacement workers.

posted 6:48 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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