Christmas on Strike

The Sprit of Christmas

or
When Vought Stole Christmas

For many families of Vought strikers in Tennessee, this will be the toughest Christmas in years. For many, it’s hard to remember the kudos Vought had given its workforce, for vastly improved safety, productivity and return on investment.

The kudos, of course, stopped at the bargaining table. Vought demanded their employees take big takeaways. When the proposal was rejected, instead of coming back to the table and listening to their fine workforce, they decided instead to PUNISH the workers. They quickly hired out-of-state scab temporary workers, spent millions on private union-busting security and buses, in an attempt to break the union and the workers.

At the table, Vought negotiators said they were the only one that cared about the employees. One wonders, when they are at their Christmas tree tomorrow morning with their families, stuffed with presents for their kids, what they will think about the families of those on strike.

For many years, we thought the world of Charles Dickens was a relic of the past. Bob Cratchit was a wage slave, with a sick child. The greedy, ruthless Ebenezer Scrooge hoarded his wealth, never caring about his hard-working employee. Some things, it seems, never changes.

Sadly, there seems to be no Ghosts of Christmas past, present or future in Tennessee this year to change the hearts of Vought management. They want to HURT the workers, break their will, make them come crawling back, happy to work for whatever crumbs they deign to give you.

And they want you to be GRATEFUL for it.

One wonders, as they watch those Christmas retellings of Dicken’s classic story, whether they see themselves in it, or if they root for Scrooze, telling him not to give in to HIS ungrateful employee?

Remind your children and family that this strike is about a brighter future for all the workers at Vought, for better Christmases in the future. Sometimes sacrifice now is needed to ensure better days ahead. Tell them that other sacrificed so that we could have a good life, and that we can’t give up what they fought so hard to get.

Here’s the bottom line. Our strike continues to work, the pickets hold up well. The company did everything they could to break our will, and they are more than willing to ruin our Christmases and punish our children, too. Our Solidarity ensures we will win our strike. The TRUE Spirit of Christmas resides in each and every one of us, on this Christmas Eve, because we have our families, we have our pride, and we stand up together for a better life.

Greed has no place in the true Christmas Spirit. We can only pray that a spirit DOES touch the hard hearts of Vought managers, and heal them and make them remember that millions of dollars in their pockets does nothing to cover up the pain they’ve caused to make it.