Duffy Tool & Stamping workers get a first contract

No more having to ask permission to go to the bathroom or face firing over false accusations. Finally, said Ann Nichols, the workers at Duffy Tool & Stamping in Muncie, Ind., have a sense of “security.”

After eight years of fighting with the company to come to the bargaining table, the 184 UAW members’ security comes in the form of their first contract.

“We had some hurdles to get across, but we made it,” said UAW Local 3054 President Ronnie Haste, a seven-year Duffy worker. “We still have some things we’d like to have accomplished, but this is a good starting point.”

Duffy workers, who produce metal stampings for automotive, appliance and refrigeration industries, voted to join the UAW in 1996 and opened bargaining in 1997.

“After workers started organizing, things gradually got worse and worse,” said Nichols.

“Management basically did what it wanted, when it wanted and made sure you knew that they wer doing it because they could.”

Nichols added, “If you were a second late coming back from break, you would be fired. And management would stand over you watching you work, so if you did something wrong they would jump all over you.”

The company eventually fired most of the union’s first bargaining committee. Those left were subject to intimidation and unfair labor practices (ULPs).

The UAW filed and won ULP charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Still, Duffy resisted. The NLRB told the company that bargaining with the UAW was not an option – it was an order.

“This is a company that had been determined to fight the workers at every step. The company’s problem turned out to be that the workers fought back,” said UAW Region 3 Director Terry Thurman.

In November 2005, Duffy and its workers finally came to terms. Workers credit the company’s willingness to negotiate with a change in management leadership.

The three-year contract gives Duffy workers a raise of 30 cents an hour for the first and third years, and a $300 lump sum in the second. It’s the first raise Duffy workers have seen in at least seven years, they said.

“It took quite a while, but we stayed right here and fought for what we wanted,” said Nichols. “At least having this contract is a starting point for us and the company to come together.”

Sandra Davis