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THE BUGLE/SENTINEL MAY 9, 2012
CAT Continued from page 3 The group cheers every time a passing automobile honks their horn to show support, a frequent occurrence on this highly used stretch of Route 6. “Yeah it’s loud,” Jones said of a blaring semi-truck that sped past. “But, it’s when they stop honking that you have to worry.” Jim Tucker, 41, has worked at the Joliet facility for 19 years. He said that his noticeably hoarse voice was the result of days of yelling at cars entering the Caterpillar facility. “What did your grandfather do for a living?” he yelled to an expensive-looking black sedan as it entered the facility. “These are some of the proudest moments of my life, standing here with my brothers,” Tucker said to a group of strikers.
Steps away, Boaz told the group that the contract is not just detrimental to senior members, but every member of Local 851. “You younger guys, they want to freeze your wages,” he said. “They can keep you two years and say ‘good bye.’ It sucks.” Jones echoed the sentiments of the other members of Local 851, but he stressed that the union is not looking for a handout. “We’re not trying to become wealthy or rich,” he said.“We just don’t want a reduction in our standard of living. We want to be able to continue to raise our
families in the fashion that we have.” Caterpillar has not yet reached out to the union, but Jones is hopeful that the company will contact Local 851 soon. Dunn, on the other hand, shot down the notion. “There certainly are no new talks scheduled that I am aware of,” he said. “We continue to be open to continuing discussions when the union is prepared to deal realistically with the issues before us.” jsamples@buglenewspapers.com