Another Union Demands More, Another Plant Moves

[dandi]

It's official: Olin ammo production to Mississippi

BY STEVE GIEGERICH > sgiegerich@post-dispatch.com >

The Olin Corp. announced Wednesday that it will suspend production of centerfire ammunition at its plant in East Alton and re-locate the manufacturing operation to Oxford, Miss.

The move comes less than 24 hours after members of the union representing over Olin 800 workers rejected concessions that would have allowed them to keep their jobs.

"Our focus always has been on ensuring that we continue producing high-quality products for our customers in an increasingly competitive market," president and CEO Joseph D. Rupp said in a prepared statement.

"While I am disappointed that employees represented by the International Association of Machinists chose to reject a proposal that would have allowed us to remain competitive in East Alton, we look forward to expanding our existing operations in Mississippi."

East Alton's second-largest employer, Olin manufactures the centerfire ammunition line for firearms sold under the Winchester brand.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/job-watch/article_b01e72be-e782-11df-ab83-00127992bc8b.html

Ah, well.  Good news for Mississippi, bad news for union members.  Self correcting problems and all that....

[JohnnyReb]

In the S.C. election there were some state Constitutional amendment changes to be voted on. One was an amendment to change union votes from "secret ballots" to __(open?)______-[can't remember the term they used].

I voted against changing it. The unions come down here and try that strong arm shit bad enough already.

[thundley4]

More jobs gone from Illinois. What the government doesn't drive out with taxes and fees, the unions will.

[ExGeeEye]

In the S.C. election there were some state Constitutional amendment changes to be voted on. One was an amendment to change union votes from "secret ballots" to __(open?)______-[can't remember the term they used].

I voted against changing it. The unions come down here and try that strong arm shit bad enough already.

Did it pass?

[true_blood]

More jobs gone from Illinois. What the government doesn't drive out with taxes and fees, the unions will.

Exactly. And the red diaper doper baby stands right next to the unions.

[PatriotGame]

Exactly. And the red diaper doper baby stands right next to the unions.

I am curious - where did you pick that up from?

First time I came across it was via reading an op-ed from Michael Savage on World Net Daily way back in 2000 then, subsequently hearing Michael repeat it on his radio show.

[Pat]

"The South's Gonna Do It"

Well the train to Grinder's Switch is runnin' right on time
And the Tucker boys are cookin' down in Caroline
People down in Florida can't be still
When old Lynyrd Skynyrd's pickin' down in Jacksonville
People down in Georgia come from near and far
To hear Richard Betts pickin' on his red guitar

Chorus:
So gather round gather round children
Get down well just get down children
Get loud well you can be loud and be proud
And you can be proud here
Be proud to a rebel 'cause the south's gonna do it again

Elvin Bishop's sittin' on a bale of hay
He ain't good lookin' but he sure can play
And there's ZZ Top and you can't forget
That old brother Willie's gettin' soakin' wet
And all the good people down in Tennessee
Are diggin' barefoot Jerry and the CDB

Repeat Chorus

And again........yes it is

[bijou]

I am curious - where did you pick that up from?

First time I came across it was via reading an op-ed from Michael Savage on World Net Daily way back in 2000 then, subsequently hearing Michael repeat it on his radio show.

I first came across it via Ronald Radosh's book

Radosh is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.,[1] and professor of history emeritus at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York [2]. The Hudson Institute is an American, non-profit, conservative Think tank founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson New York, by Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Queensborough Community College (QCC, is one of six Community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY system The City University of New York (CUNY Acronym ˈkjuːni is the public University system of New York City. His commentaries on the Rosenbergs and other topics have appeared in The New Republic, The Weekly Standard and National Review, and the blog Frontpagemag.com. The New Republic ( TNR) is an American Magazine of politics and the arts The Weekly Standard is an American opinion Magazine published 48 times per year National Review ( NR) is a biweekly Magazine and Web site, founded by the late author William F FrontPage Magazine (also known as FRONTPAGEMAGCOM) is an online conservative political magazine edited by David Horowitz and is published His memoirs are entitled Commies: A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left, and the Leftover Left.

Although Radosh was initially a self-described Red Diaper Baby, and for most of his academic career was intimately associated with leftist causes, e. Red diaper baby describes a child of parents who were members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA or were close to the party or sympathetic to its aims g. , an intellectual defense of the Rosenbergs, initial support for the FMLN and opposition to the Contras, etc. The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (in Spanish: Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN) is a Left-wing political , he gradually evolved into a neoconservative polemicist in the mold of his colleagues, David Horowitz and Peter Collier. David Joel Horowitz (born January 10, 1939) is an American conservative writer and activist Peter Collier was the founding publisher of Encounter Books in California

Two pivotal moments that solidified this change of philosophy were his decision to collaborate with Joyce Milton on an examination of the Rosenberg files—which led him to conclude that Julius Rosenberg was indeed guilty of the espionage charges he would ultimately be convicted of, with his wife potentially being an important accomplice in this scheme—and a visit to Central America during the 1980s. This was done because he was considering writing a piece for The New Republic, which he had intended as a balanced portrait of the government led by Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas. The New Republic ( TNR) is an American Magazine of politics and the arts José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (xoˈse ðanjεl ɔrteγa saˈβeðra(born 11 November 1945 is the current President of Nicaragua. The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional) is a socialist Nicaraguan Political party.

However, after examining the composition of the government—and its policies—he came to the conclusion that it was infiltrated by Stalinists, and was not moving in a democratic direction. Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953

These two events—which Radosh describes as being crucial in the evolution of his political philosophy—led him to be ostracized from his former allies, and for both sides to begin a reciprocal-and often vituperative-public war of words that continues to this day.

Radosh's critics accuse him of exaggerating the significance of Soviet espionage in the US, while he maintains that they are naive, doctrinaire leftists, who haven't reconciled themselves to the crimes committed on behalf of Communism, and whose enmity stems from that fundamental flaw. Since the late 1920s the Soviet Union, through its OGPU and NKVD intelligence services used Russians and foreign-born nationals as well as Communist

Radosh is the father of journalist Daniel Radosh.

Red diaper baby describes a child of parents who were members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) or were close to the party or sympathetic to its aims. The Communist Party of the United States of America ( CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist Political party in the United States.

In their book Red Diapers: Growing Up in the Communist Left, Judy Kaplan and Linn Shapiro define red diaper babies as "children of CPUSA members, children of former CPUSA members, and children whose parents never became members of the CPUSA but were involved in political, cultural, or educational activities led or supported by the Party".

More generally, the phrase is sometimes used to refer to a child of any radical parent, regardless of that parent's past partisan affiliation (or the affiliation of the child).

Red Diaper Baby is also the title of an autobiographical one man show and book by monologist Josh Kornbluth, and a 2004 documentary film by Doug Pray.

http://www.citizendia.org/Ronald_Radosh

[Gratiot]

It appears, there were some other issues involved with this:

-Olin relocated their rimfire manufacturing business to the Oxford, Mississippi plant in 2004.

-Olin has been in a fierce battle over the property tax assessments by Madison County every year since 2003.  Last years assessment was over $35 million dollars, while Olin's auditors argued in vain apparently that it should only be assessed at $17 million.

-In August of this year, Olin issued a press release that it was looking at moving the facility out of Madison County.  They also had their lobbyist inform politicians of the decision the day before it was announced.  State Senators respond, that they can't make an incentive package for Olin, when Olin won't announce why they're considering moving.  Meanwhile Olin is apparently still vigorously appealing their property tax assessments.

-The Leadership Council of Southwest Illinois, an economic development group for the area announces that they'd like to develop an incentive package to stay but there's unfortunately no state funding to draw upon.  Additionally, they state that with the time frame Olin announced, it doesn't sound like they could analyze the situation properly.

-Olin announces that the state of Mississippi has offered them substantial and staggering incentives to move there.  Which is later determined to be approximately $25 Million dollars and significantly reduced taxes.

-After setting the stage, Olin demands concessions from the workforce while the current contract is in place, a violation there of.  Which reportedly include a freeze of wages for upwards of seven years, reduction of vacation time, elimination of vacation bonus days, and elimination of company match towards 401k retirement accounts.  The workers reject the contract concessions, with reasons such as executive pay, company profits, government contracts, and the fact that they don't believe Olin would live up to the agreement anyways.

-Olin offers the same proposal again, with the addition of a statement that they fingers-crossed-promise not to move jobs from the facility to Mississippi during the mentioned period.

-Workers reject the concessions, 593-470.  Olin embraces Mississippi's bribe and is moving much of their production there.

Sigh, life goes on.

[thundley4]

It appears, there were some other issues involved with this:

-Olin relocated their rimfire manufacturing business to the Oxford, Mississippi plant in 2004.

-Olin has been in a fierce battle over the property tax assessments by Madison County every year since 2003.  Last years assessment was over $35 million dollars, while Olin's auditors argued in vain apparently that it should only be assessed at $17 million.

-In August of this year, Olin issued a press release that it was looking at moving the facility out of Madison County.  They also had their lobbyist inform politicians of the decision the day before it was announced.  State Senators respond, that they can't make an incentive package for Olin, when Olin won't announce why they're considering moving.  Meanwhile Olin is apparently still vigorously appealing their property tax assessments.

-The Leadership Council of Southwest Illinois, an economic development group for the area announces that they'd like to develop an incentive package to stay but there's unfortunately no state funding to draw upon.  Additionally, they state that with the time frame Olin announced, it doesn't sound like they could analyze the situation properly.

-Olin announces that the state of Mississippi has offered them substantial and staggering incentives to move there.  Which is later determined to be approximately $25 Million dollars and significantly reduced taxes.

-After setting the stage, Olin demands concessions from the workforce while the current contract is in place, a violation there of.  Which reportedly include a freeze of wages for upwards of seven years, reduction of vacation time, elimination of vacation bonus days, and elimination of company match towards 401k retirement accounts.  The workers reject the contract concessions, with reasons such as executive pay, company profits, government contracts, and the fact that they don't believe Olin would live up to the agreement anyways.

-Olin offers the same proposal again, with the addition of a statement that they fingers-crossed-promise not to move jobs from the facility to Mississippi during the mentioned period.

-Workers reject the concessions, 593-470.  Olin embraces Mississippi's bribe and is moving much of their production there.

Sigh, life goes on.

Link?  But it still comes down to unions and local government.

[Gratiot]

Link?  But it still comes down to unions and local government.

There was over half a dozen related links, from the OP's link going into the back story, even more via a Google search.  I was going to link each point to a web source, but half way through I figured bah... there's no point, when it just comes down to union's are the debil... 

Wait, actually we should restate it as:

It still comes down to unions, local government, state government, national government (albeit only in a negative fashion when it can be connected to a democrat), business, greed (from all directions), people, weather, the business cycle, the metric system (shivers), and "The Debil"!

[thundley4]

It looks like there is a union the former Olin workers can join.  New Union

[true_blood]

I am curious - where did you pick that up from?
First time I came across it was via reading an op-ed from Michael Savage on World Net Daily way back in 2000 then, subsequently hearing Michael repeat it on his radio show.

I got it from Michael Savage.
Actually listening to him streaming live right now.

[dandi]

It appears, there were some other issues involved with this:

-Olin relocated their rimfire manufacturing business to the Oxford, Mississippi plant in 2004.

-Olin has been in a fierce battle over the property tax assessments by Madison County every year since 2003.  Last years assessment was over $35 million dollars, while Olin's auditors argued in vain apparently that it should only be assessed at $17 million.

-In August of this year, Olin issued a press release that it was looking at moving the facility out of Madison County.  They also had their lobbyist inform politicians of the decision the day before it was announced.  State Senators respond, that they can't make an incentive package for Olin, when Olin won't announce why they're considering moving.  Meanwhile Olin is apparently still vigorously appealing their property tax assessments.

They can't figure it out?  Really?!?

-The Leadership Council of Southwest Illinois, an economic development group for the area announces that they'd like to develop an incentive package to stay but there's unfortunately no state funding to draw upon.  Additionally, they state that with the time frame Olin announced, it doesn't sound like they could analyze the situation properly.

Doesn't take but about 5 seconds to figure out that a company doesn't want to get strangled to death by taxes.  Sounds like the "leadership council" needs "leadership" that has some common sense.

-Olin announces that the state of Mississippi has offered them substantial and staggering incentives to move there.  Which is later determined to be approximately $25 Million dollars and significantly reduced taxes.

-After setting the stage, Olin demands concessions from the workforce while the current contract is in place, a violation there of.  Which reportedly include a freeze of wages for upwards of seven years, reduction of vacation time, elimination of vacation bonus days, and elimination of company match towards 401k retirement accounts.  The workers reject the contract concessions, with reasons such as executive pay, company profits, government contracts, and the fact that they don't believe Olin would live up to the agreement anyways.

Did the workers and union bosses forget that companies are not in business to provide jobs and pay their benefits?  Did the workers and union bosses forget that in the obama economy, it really isn't a smart idea to piss in the face of the people who pay your salary?

-Olin offers the same proposal again, with the addition of a statement that they fingers-crossed-promise not to move jobs from the facility to Mississippi during the mentioned period.

-Workers reject the concessions, 593-470.  Olin embraces Mississippi's bribe and is moving much of their production there.

Lower costs for doing business, more business friendly environment, no union shitheads to deal with, no threats of strike, ride out obama economy and stay in business to keep providing jobs and benefits.

Oooorrrrr

Stay where they are and deal with the union shitheads, deal with a local government that appears to have no real interest in Olin other than to see how much money they can take from them, continue to pay through the nose for whatever corrupt union/democrat bullshit that comes down the road.

Hmmmmmmm.....

 

**** a union.  They have no one but themselves to blame.

I do however, have a solution to the workers that managed to vote themselves out of a job:  When times get really rough, they can eat their union bosses.

Sigh, life goes on.

Indeed it does...

[Karin]

I do sense a whiff of sympathy with the union position, and a slight demonizing of the company.  Don't you think a union will **** over a company at almost any chance?  Ever work in a union shop when someone has a beef?  Sabatoge happens.  One pair of plastic safety glasses "accidently" dropped into a strategic point in a paper mill, and the company is out millions of dollars.  Really.  Everything has to be shut down indefinitely, and scale is king in paper.