Why so many December ‘80 frames?

[Xlobsterman]

About the strike. It's been "said" that an estimated 1400 assembly workers walked off the job for thirteen weeks. That doesn't mean all the workers walked off the job and it's not mentioned how many were still working. So what's their definition of assembly workers? Does that include frame builders, wheel builders, and everyone that actually made the parts? After the strike it's said Schwinn only hired back 65% (910?) of the workers. Were those just the ones that walked off the job and not the ones that did not walk off the job and stayed and were still working? In 1983 Schwinn shuts down the Chicago plant and lays off 1800 workers.
The strike definitely crippled Schwinn's Chicago production, but it did not shut everything down in Chicago for 13 weeks. At this time there was no Union in the Schwinn household so some production of finished products could have continued but in very small quantities.

I highly doubt many (if any at all) workers were crossing any picket lines in a city like Chicago. If any did continue to work, I am sure they were sneaking in through a back door somewhere? And my theory on why there are so many MR (Dec 80) frames out there is because of the possibility of a few workers wanting to make some money during the Christmas season so their families could have lots of presents under the tree........LOL

Anyhow, this is just seems to be another one of those unsolved mysteries surrounding the Schwinn company during their troubled times.

 

[Oilit]

I highly doubt many (if any at all) workers were crossing any picket lines in a city like Chicago. If any did continue to work, I am sure they were sneaking in through a back door somewhere? And my theory on why there are so many MR (Dec 80) frames out there is because of the possibility of a few workers wanting to make some money during the Christmas season so their families could have lots of presents under the tree........LOL

Anyhow, this is just seems to be another one of those unsolved mysteries surrounding the Schwinn company during their troubled times.

I wonder if they were all in the same union? A man I knew when I was a kid told me about working for a union in a plant that had several. One of the other unions went on strike so his union called a sympathy strike. But by the time they made the call, the other union had already settled their strike, and the other guys were punching back in as his crew were punching out. He said you made good money working for the union, but probably not enough to make up for all the time spent on strike. If it was the assembly workers who were on strike, then there may have been different unions for the different trades.

 

[Xlobsterman]

I wonder if they were all in the same union? A man I knew when I was a kid told me about working for a union in a plant that had several. One of the other unions went on strike so his union called a sympathy strike. But by the time they made the call, the other union had already settled their strike, and the other guys were punching back in as his crew were punching out. He said you made good money working for the union, but probably not enough to make up for all the time spent on strike. If it was the assembly workers who were on strike, then there may have been different unions for the different trades.

At the time, none of them were in a union. Later they all voted to unionize, then went on strike for higher pay. Like I said previously, I highly doubt anyone crossed the picket line to work in the factory in a city like Chicago. Those who may have done it, did it on the down low!

 

[Oilit]

At the time, none of them were in a union. Later they all voted to unionize, then went on strike for higher pay. Like I said previously, I highly doubt anyone crossed the picket line to work in the factory in a city like Chicago. Those who may have done it, did it on the down low!

If you check the footnotes at the bottom of the excerpted page from "Bicycles From Taiwan", it says "On Oct. 29, 1980, the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), representing Schwinn's shop employees, struck at Schwinn's Chicago plants, effectively stopping production of bicycles and exercisers. The strike ended in February 1981 with a 3-year labor agreement." I don't understand what you mean. If they weren't in a union, how did the union call a strike?

 

[Xlobsterman]

If you check the footnotes at the bottom of the excerpted page from "Bicycles From Taiwan", it says "On Oct. 29, 1980, the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), representing Schwinn's shop employees, struck at Schwinn's Chicago plants, effectively stopping production of bicycles and exercisers. The strike ended in February 1981 with a 3-year labor agreement." I don't understand what you mean. If they weren't in a union, how did the union call a strike?

Lots of discrepancies on this topic out on the WWW

A quote from Wikipedia:


Labor troubles, bankruptcy and demise[edit]
In October 1979, Edward R. Schwinn, Jr. took over the presidency of Schwinn from his uncle Frank, ensuring continuity of Schwinn family in the operations of the company.[44] However, worker dissatisfaction, seldom a problem in the early years, grew with steep increases in inflation. In late 1980, the Schwinn Chicago factory workers voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers.[45][46] Plant assembly workers began a strike for higher pay in September 1980, and 1,400 assembly workers walked off the job for thirteen weeks.[47][48] Although the strike ended in February 1981, only about 65% of the prior workforce was recalled to work.

 

[GTs58]

It seems that some don't understand the few facts that are published about this strike.
This was not a Union Strike. That's a totally different situation.
To make over 800000 head tubes in December 80 people were needed to stamp out the two halves, then they needed to be rolled and after that welded together. Then they were cleaned up and the cup holes were sized. Then they were stamped with the serial numbers and holes were drilled for the badge. It took more that just a few wanting to make a few bucks for Christmas. An "estimated" 1400 workers out of 1800 walked out and were on strike but it's obvious that quite a few of the remaining 400 employees were still working and producing during this strike.

I was in the Union and went thru a strike in the 70's. The companies then hired non Union workers and continued working on their projects. The Union couldn't do SQUAT! A couple years later the Union here was busted and the majority of the industry went scab. Out of the three Locals only one remained.

 

[Xlobsterman]

It seems that some don't understand the few facts that are published about this strike.
This was not a Union Strike. That's a totally different situation.
To make over 800000 head tubes in December 80 people were needed to stamp out the two halves, then they needed to be rolled and after that welded together. Then they were cleaned up and the cup holes were sized. Then they were stamped with the serial numbers and holes were drilled for the badge. It took more that just a few wanting to make a few bucks for Christmas. An "estimated" 1400 workers out of 1800 walked out and were on strike but it's obvious that quite a few of the remaining 400 employees were still working and producing during this strike.

I was in the Union and went thru a strike in the 70's. The companies then hired non Union workers and continued working on their projects. The Union couldn't do SQUAT! A couple years later the Union here was busted and the majority of the industry went scab. Out of the three Locals only one remained.

Well from the 2 articles posted by myself and Oilit, it is clear to me that this was a union sanctioned STRIKE. Do you have something that clearly states otherwise?

 

[Oilit]

It seems that some don't understand the few facts that are published about this strike.
This was not a Union Strike. That's a totally different situation.
To make over 800000 head tubes in December 80 people were needed to stamp out the two halves, then they needed to be rolled and after that welded together. Then they were cleaned up and the cup holes were sized. Then they were stamped with the serial numbers and holes were drilled for the badge. It took more that just a few wanting to make a few bucks for Christmas. An "estimated" 1400 workers out of 1800 walked out and were on strike but it's obvious that quite a few of the remaining 400 employees were still working and producing during this strike.

I was in the Union and went thru a strike in the 70's. The companies then hired non Union workers and continued working on their projects. The Union couldn't do SQUAT! A couple years later the Union here was busted and the majority of the industry went scab. Out of the three Locals only one remained.

@GTs58, I was looking back through this thread and in your post (#2 in the thread) you quote an article dated Sept. 26, 1980 "The Schwinn Bicycle Co. has agreed to negotiate a contract with its workers for the first time in its 110-year history". It also says that on March 28 Schwinn's workers had voted to make the United Auto Workers International their "bargaining agent." So if the negotiations failed, this would explain why the strike started in October, which makes sense to me. I'm just wondering where you got this. Is it a newspaper article?

 

[GTs58]

@GTs58, I was looking back through this thread and in your post (#2 in the thread) you quote an article dated Sept. 26, 1980 "The Schwinn Bicycle Co. has agreed to negotiate a contract with its workers for the first time in its 110-year history". It also says that on March 28 Schwinn's workers had voted to make the United Auto Workers International their "bargaining agent." So if the negotiations failed, this would explain why the strike started in October, which makes sense to me. I'm just wondering where you got this. Is it a newspaper article?

Yes, it was United Press International.

The Schwinn Bicycle Co. has agreed to negotiate a... - UPI Archives

The Schwinn Bicycle Co. has agreed to negotiate a contract with its workers for the first time in its 110-year history, spokesmen for both sides said Friday....

www.upi.com

It seems the workers were not getting what they wanted from Schwinn, so they got involved with the UAW and wanted them to be their representative even though they were not Union members. This strike was more involved than what many perceive. It was not a Union strike per say, but it was negotiated by the Union and I assume the workers then joined the Union at that time.

 

[Xlobsterman]

Yes, it was United Press International.

The Schwinn Bicycle Co. has agreed to negotiate a... - UPI Archives

The Schwinn Bicycle Co. has agreed to negotiate a contract with its workers for the first time in its 110-year history, spokesmen for both sides said Friday....

www.upi.com

It seems the workers were not getting what they wanted from Schwinn, so they got involved with the UAW and wanted them to be their representative even though they were not Union members. This strike was more involved than what many perceive. It was not a Union strike per say, but it was negotiated by the Union and I assume the workers then joined the Union at that time.

Non union workers can NOT go on strike! They would have had to join the union first, then the "UNION" can call a strike on their behalf if the negotiations fail.