"They walked off their jobs." Does anyone have any sympathy for them?

How does a group of slackers not wanting to work make the headlines?

John Public, why don't you throw away your Link card and try working for a living? Maybe try Caterpillar and see how they treat you.

Can you say 'conflict of interest', Mayor Girrante?

Rich, I work for Caterpillar and love it. If You don't like it, leave. In my experience, the company would be better off without the people like you.

If Cat can afford to give double digit pay raises to the salired employee's then why not the union workers? It seems to be a trend with large companies to pay huge paychecks to people who perform nothing that contributes to the building of the product while the people who do all the labor get little or nothing. Hardworking American if he or she is a union worker should learn the meaning of union, if not you are one of the leeches who draw a paycheck because of a hardworking union member. Moer than likely you can't get a job with Cat.

Tony, not all the salaried employees got double digit raises, in fact very got that. Our raises are based on our performance. Some get little to no raise, and only have themselves to blame. The one's who worked hard, and made significant contributions to the company, above and beyond what they were asked to do, get rewarded accordingly.

Hardworking American. If you are so positive about Caterpillar, why does the hard working hourly workforce that produces the premium product have to go backward with there contract? I also have good friends that are salaried and management for Cat , that got raises and big incentive comp checks this year. Hourly gets NO raises and small incentive comp checks. Maybe this is the reason that you love Cat. If you have worked for them very long you know they will cheat you too.

If you walk away from a job then you deserve to be replaced. Also, if you do not like working at Cat, leave. I am sure someone out there would appreciate your job.

Why in the world does the mayor and Hugg get involved in something that does not concern city business? Hugg even initiates support in a council meeting! Is it to show support for city union members as well? There seems to be little concern for the tax paying citizens that pay the unjustified salaries and benefits that are paid to these few select that they represent. We need a Scott Walker type on the council and mayoral office. One that understands fair wages and benifits. The only one there that does is the city manager. Always fighting for tax payers while council and mayor fight for unions.

You are about as dumb as a box of rocks.The more money people earn the more taxes they pay, unless you believe in the Republican way of life, then only the middle class pay. You probably think that the CEO of CAT is worth 20 million or so a year. Cat has had record breaking profits, did the CEO build so much as one earth mover, I think not.If not for unions do you think CAT or GM or Ford would give workers health insurance or vacations or allow them to have a retirement plan? come to think of it you probably do.Its to bad people like you can't go to China and go to work and see if you could earn enough money to get back to the good old USA, I doubt if you could earn enough to buy food.

Tony - does your precious union pay you enough strike money to buy food? The answer must be no, since You guys are robbing the food banks.

Evidently some people do not understand what is going on at Cat Joliet. The offer Cat has made include things like people hired before 2005, no raises, not even COLA, for 6 years. They do not make a "bank load of cash per hour" as was suggested. Highest paid workers get about $28 an hour. New hires after 2005 start around $11-13 an hour and the most they will ever make under the proposed contract is about $18. Insurance costs will nearly triple for some families. Pensions will be frozen, and changed to a 401k. But the bigger concerns are the seniority changes. Under this offer, anyone, even a person with 20 yrs. or more, can be loaned out to any other shift or department with no notice for any reason for up to 2 years, while the new guy who is really good at kissing the boss's you know what can be loaned out to cover the open spot. Sound fair to anyone? There are several similar provisions in this offer that are not at all fair. How many of you would take a job if you were told no raises for 6 years and we can work you at anything we want, no matter what job you hired in for? This might be fine as a job to hold you over as you look for something better, but most of those people on strike planned to make this their career. They have worked hard to get where they are & don't want to lose their spot because some grumpy supervisor is having a bad day, or has a nephew who wants day shift. They are not asking for huge raises like the CEO got, (42% in 2011), just a fair contract!

Slackers? You try walking a picket line, day in and day out, in the heat, outside, for months on end. Then tell me if these guys and gals are slackers. They are heros who stand for what they believe in. You might try that sometime.

We believe in the long term this offer would be bad for the entire Joliet area. The job market in this area will suffer if one of the leading employers in the area reduces their wage & benefit structure this way, pulling everyone down and negatively affecting the local economy. If Caterpillar wants to stay #1 they need to keep the best people!

Listen guys, alot of companies are not giving raises. If the economy was booming and things were great id say ya ask for a raise but to walk off the job especially now because you cant get 25 cents extra is just plain greedy and stupid. Unions have way to much power and are not needed in most cases. They just make you pay high heathcare plan costs and high dues. Their like a new age maffia of sorts. I would say like the rest of working america toughen it up for the next few years and when things are better then negotiate a new contract. But if you are too stupid and want it now, you can join the other 23 million unemployed americans, many people will take your job to support their family in an instant. Dont bite the hand that feeds you. Especially if theirs a famine going on!

The other companies not giving raises when times are tough don't give there CEO a 42 percent raise. Also Caterpillar is not going through hard times, they reported record sales and profits. Our union does not cause us to pay high healthcare costs the Raterpillar is doing this. But if you are too stupid to get the facts straight you probably aren't smart enough to have a good job.

Joliet Cat workers are not asking for a raise other than COLA and something for the lower paid new hires. (They currently start around $12 an hour), even though the CEO got his 42% increase and $15 million bonus. Cat wants to be able to move people from shift to shift, job to job, however & whenever they want, for as long as they want, without regard to seniority. So if someone who worked hard for 15 years and finally got the job on the shift they wanted, now has a boss who is mad at them for whatever reason, can be sent to do the nastiest job on the worst shift while the new guy who the boss likes (or is related to) will get their job. This is NOT a fair contract! Neither is taking away their pensions or nearly tripling their insurance premiums! If Caterpillar had been struggling in this economy people would be a bit more tolerant of some of these changes. But record profits and huge raises & bonuses for upper management and they want to take away from everyone else? No way!!!

to all you clowns that dont seewhats going on down at cat. i would love to see how many of you would be where you are today without the unions that our fathers fought for.too bad we cant take this gov. from wis.. and the ceosign your names when you reply of cat and send them on a one way trip to mars. all joking aside fellows stick it out if for nothing else but for the security ,of your children of the future .and lastly i wish all you cowards would sign your names when you reply or are you chicken s**** GOD BLESS THE UNIONS AND THE U S A .

@ rich, I do have a good job, i get paid more then alot of you guys over there, unions were good during child labor days and when companies tried to pay low wages . Now unions have become thugs who harass companies into overpaying sometimes for easy ass jobs, like the 30 buck an hour guy who was paid to put hubcaps on cars at the now bankrupt chrysler plant. Its simple fellas, i was in the military 6 years, you get paid 18-20k your first few years. Its hard work , get shot at, sleep outside , and are away from family. We cant complain because we knew the pros and cons before we enlisted. We chose this and do it proudly. Its simple if you dont like what a companys paying DONT WORK THERE. Its a free market and you can go find a job that better meets your needs. PLENTY of people thank god they have a job to go to each day as they watch friends and family members get laid off or loose jobs. Maybe instead of being concerned about what the CEO makes maybe we should focus on our lives and be thankfull. If you want to make what the ceo makes, or a doctor makes, or a foreman makes then become one otherwise be happy with what you have. If not quit and 23 million jobless americans will thankfully and happily take your place, when i was unemployed i would have taken it in a heart beat. Toughen it up and deal with it, adapt and overcome, be strong and you will prosper. "He who does not work does not eat"

Fire them all. What kind of idiot goes on strike during a recession.They are to stupid to have jobs. Cat should pack up and move to a right to work state like Indiana and forget all about Illinois and the unions.

To cjhmarine & Luke: Evidently neither of you read my comment above. It's not so much about the raises as it is about the other crap they want to do. And it may be a recession, but Cat has had record profits the last 2 years, & the 1st quarter this year was a 29% increase over the 1st quarter last year! With losing the bonuses we had in the last contract, the increase in insurance costs, and the lack of cost of living increases, plus frozen pensions, this amounts to about a 20-30% pay CUT! And still that's not the primary issue! To see what is, please read my comment from Sunday.

@ caring citizen, american airline pilots have taken a 50% pay cut, people who enjoy being a man and providing for their family will not care about a silly 20-30 percent. The questions you have to ask yourself are, can i still pay my bills, house, food clothes, or should i find a better job. simple choice my friend if you dont like where your working and think mcdonalds or another corporation that is a success is going to hire you and give into your greedy demands even though 23million americans will work without being a bully then go do it, otherwise get to work and stop slacking. grap yourself by the balls and stop being whiney girley men.

oh and i would love to see you guys in the military whining about pay, sleeping outdoors, lack of sleep, lack of paid time off. You guys wouldnt last and would get the green weenie.

Luke, With all your whining it sounds like you should look for another job that has health insurance benefits and also a Cola to help keep you up with things. Or maybe get a second job to keep you afloat. Also quit your whining.

@ rich, he does have a job that he at least goes to and doesnt act like a bunch of women on the rag

The primary thing the workers at Cat Joliet are striking over is not money. Cat sales are NOT down, btw, as the last 2 yrs have been RECORD profits, 1st quarter this year up 29% from last yr. I have no problem with the CEO receiving the raises and bonuses he did. I wouldn't object to increasing (in reason) insurance costs. I don't like freezing the pensions and going to a 401k, but I could live with it.(reluctantly). I could live without any raises for the next 6 yrs if I had to. But I don't think it's fair for the newer people to have their pay cap out at about 70% of mine, for them to receive less of the other benefits than myself, even though they are doing the same work. I don't believe it's fair for a new person the get the job I have worked hard for 15 yrs for, while I get moved to the crappiest job on the worst shift, because the boss likes the new guy better, or is related to him, or is ticked off at me. I do not think favoritism is the correct way to determine who gets what job. Ability and seniority should be the deciding factors. I don't have a "whiny" or "owe me" mentality. I just believe that all of the employees at Cat Joliet deserve to be given an equal opportunity to make a decent living without having to gain expertise in boot licking and butt kissing.

Oh and by the way, before you continue with your gender slurs, please take note, that of the 6% of people who have crossed the picket line, only one has been a female. So don't be so quick to slam the men saying they act like women. So far it has been the women who have been the ones to stand strong. Your intended insults may actually come across as compliments to those of us who are very proud of our female coworkers. We could wish all of our men were as strong as our women have proven to be.

First, working overtime in the past has always been offered 1st to the qualified person in the area who has worked the lowest OT hours, then to the next & so on, mandatory OT is done the same way. And I did not call my fellow workers butt kissers or boot lickers. I said we should not have to gain expertise in that in order to earn a good living. I have nothing but respect for my fellow strikers who have stood on that line & held their ground. IF I were going to call anyone names it would be those who have chosen to cross our picket line and go back to work while the rest of us stand strong and fight to get them a fair contract.

You said 6% crossed the line. I read the total votes when you turned down the last offer, and it looked like 100+ people didn't bother to vote. Why is that?

Can't compare. Public elections always have historically low turnouts.You vote, you don't vote,things don't change for awhile. Contract vote, your life changes immediately if the contract is voted down. You may be right, people just didn't care too much about the results.

I have no compassion for the working conditions as far as you working in high heat and hard job. I have worked in the warehouse environment before, It comes with the job and again if its so hard and you dont like the "swampass" as i in the desert have had plenty of times and are not happy with your pay then leave and find another job more suited for you. This subject is simple and easy . DONT LIKE IT GET ANOTHER JOB,

Correct we are taught to look out for each other but also not to be a blue falcon, 17 years is a long time but ya sometimes gotta just change. it sucks but i dont care what anyone says, when there is 23 million people unemployed you just cant strike, if they were in the military they would know what tact means, waiting for the right time and the right situation and then going for it. when 23 million people will take your job in a heartbeat, the economys bad, and your already making a decent living i think it would not be a good time for a strike, now maybe down the road when things change and everybodys in a better situation but now is not the time .

The temporary shutdowns at the other facilities were planned in advance of the strike, and are due to drops in demand. The quality and velocity at the plant are the same or better than before the strike. My contingency job does not require a skill set (high school degree at best), the replacement workers learned it in a few hours, and are already performing above the union average. You guys are cheap labor getting rocket science pay. Go CAT! !

@contingency worker. I have an inside source in the Joliet plant. He didn't speak about the velocity, but he said the quality SUCKS. Returns, rework and scrap is the norm in the gear pump and valve areas. This is because their new workforce has little or no skills in machining. Also hiring temp help such as you with no skill set, and little education. Typically when Cat hires they require extensive testing and a very good education to get in the door, drug test, and physical. They normally want intelligent and well educated applicants. And they generally got them to work for average pay and benefits., If there new contract changes take effect they will no longer attract this caliber of people. Now being desperate all these requirements went out the door. All they have in there now is bodies that are pushing metal out the door, but they really have no clue as to what they are doing. If you weren't a slacker you would probably further your education and develop a skillset. Good Luck.

Not to worry. Most of the dissenters on here are posting from their hotel rooms, after they get done scabbing. Scabs dont have any sense or sympathy for anybody but themselves.

We all care about providing for our families. We are not trying to "soak the company dry". We just want a fair contract. That means some kind of structured wage increases for our newer people, who currently start in the $12 an hour range. We want cost of living increases, minimal as they may be. We want to keep our pensions that many of us have worked long years for, after being promised them as "part of our total rewards package". We want some assurance that when someone's boss wants to get his nephew a spot, or takes a dislike to someone, that we won't lose the good job & shift we have busted our butts for for 15, 20, 30, or moire years, while the nephew or one of the bosses favorites gets that good job and shift, even though they just started. We want to continue to help keep Cat #1 in the world for the best quality. We want them to be the leader and benchmark for other companies. We want the Joliet area to grow & thrive, and other companies to have to compete with Cat's high standards. We want the best for Cat, Joliet, and all the people currently on strike against greed & corruption in high places.

Where you use the words greed and corruption in a sentence regarding Cat., I prefer to use the words cost effective and a well run company with a plan.

@M&M. You obviously have no clue how Cat operates.

Since you think scabs "provide" for their families, perhaps you need the definition of a scab.
“After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab.
A scab is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water-logged brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles.
When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and angels weep in heaven, and the Devil shuts the gates of Hell to keep him out.
No man has a right to scab so long as there is a pool of water to drown his carcass in, or a rope long enough to hang his body with. Judas Iscariot was a gentleman compared with a scab. For betraying his master, he had character enough to hang himself. A scab has not.
Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Judas Iscariot sold his Savior for thirty pieces of silver. Benedict Arnold sold his country for a promise of a commission in the British Army. The modern strikebreaker sells his birthright, his country, his wife, his children and his fellow men for an unfulfilled promise from his employer, trust or corporation.
Esau was a traitor to himself: Judas Iscariot was a traitor to his God; Benedict Arnold was a traitor to his country; a strikebreaker is a traitor to his God, his country, his wife, his family and his class.”

@m&m. You are correct bad parts did get out when the IAM workforce was in there, but it was not often. Now with the scab workforce in there it happens frequently. So the lame posts that you make it shows that you really have no clue.
Kforce

Luke, I can see you do not know your history. The scab definition is from Jack London, celebrated author. Not a goon, as you quote. Nothing wrong with wanting to work. Just dont steal from the mouths of others to try to justify your existence. Plenty of ways to make an honest living.

Susie, working a job that someone else refuses to do is called working a job. Job openings can happen due to quitting, firing, or strikes. When someone refuses to work and others work in their place you cant blame them. I got my job because someone got fired for harassment, Do i care NO because he made that choice to not perform well at work and get fired. AS far as your taking food out of somebodys mouth Theirs an old biblical verse 2 Thessalonians 3:10 - For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. [NKJV]
The phrase "will not work," means making a decision not to. Thus the passage speaks of someone who is able to work, but refuses to out of laziness OR SELFISHNESS.

The teaching does not apply to someone who is incapable of holding down a job through no fault of their own, or one who seeks work and cannot find it.

There is a big difference between a salary employee who's job is constantly evolving and a hourly employee that is doing the same job, day-in and day-out, not doing any better or any more thanks to an outmoded union...

I don't feel sorry for someone that is still getting a cost of living raise while many others saw their income remain flat.

I'll bet none of the union officials are living off of only a "Strike pay" income.

And Joliet was wrong pressuring the billboard company into taking the signs down...And if you think that Mayor Tom Giarrante didn't pressure them into doing so, you just might be a moron....Giarrante is a typical politician,,.A LIAR!

Susie
I was a union member at one time. I left after seeing the way they operate. They would come to job sites and intimidate and threaten physical harm to non union construction workers. They would slash tires and damage vehicles,and follow people home to send a message. They would destroy the work done on a job after everyone left. I have seen them pound on cars and threaten workers entering a building to work.
Don't tell me non union wokers are stealing from the mouths of others. They are trying to do whats right and earn a living. The unions have a long and documened history of violence and intimidation. Go ahead and hang out with your union friends. The friends you choose says alot about the kind of person you are.