Solidarity

OK brothers and sisters, we are in this now. We are all to the end of the line as far as paychecks go and already we can feel the stress on how to make ends meat. They have us right where they want us. “Starve em out!” “That’ll teach em for walking out.” “They’ll cave when they can’t put food on the table.” These greedy corporate (BLANKS) haven’t seen what I’ve seen on the picket line and at our union headquarters. I’ve had the pleasure to meet the women and kids of the men I work with, and their strength and character is unmatched and inspiring to say the least. Strength in family is a powerful thing. Having said that, strength and character doesn’t go far at the grocery store. Please Please Please don’t hesitate or be embarrassed to apply for Strike relief assistance when you have exhausted all other resources available to you. That’s what it’s there for. The hardship committee has the toughest job of all. They are smart, dedicated and committed to helping out. They don’t anticipate any problems but they must make sure the process is fair for everyone. Also please help out on the picket line. It goes a long way with the hardship committee if you have been helping on the line. Hell, it’s a great gig, the food is great (we’re getting better at bbq all the time). Bring the kids for lunch and join in on the bs sessions. There’s a lot to learn about jobs, or just to hear how others are getting by. I received in the mail today propaganda from our “Miner of the Year” award winning mine manager, Clayr Alexander. My first impulse was to respond to each question with what I believe to be the truth, and not the usual company slant to make it sound “good for the glory of all.” But I’ve decided not to validate it in such a manner. I think it’s fair enough to say that we have heard enough from Clayr and his entire negotiating team for the best part of a year. We have read their “last best and final” offer and overwhelmingly rejected it. We rejected it because a blind man can see that it is at the very least a union crippling, if not a complete union breaking offer which puts our jobs at risk and makes Hecla the “puppet master” of all employees and diminishes our voice in almost everything pertaining to what we do. And at the Lucky Friday, this could only become dangerous. Their arrogance makes them think they are the only ones that should be making any kind of decisions at all. This is a mine that is seismically active all the time. This is not an office setting where you are sitting in a cubicle all day. Our voice will be heard! This is a blatant power grab, nothing more or less. If Clayr would like to come back to the table and negotiate with a “give and take” attitude in mind, as opposed to “all take and no give”, then we are opened to a two way negotiation. If there is any questions on anything about the detail on this contract, please call the union hall, get a hold of Phil Epler, or just drop by the picket line and maybe we can help. We are in this together folks, and together we will get through this, but it’s going to be a long tough fight when your fighting against multi millionaires that think every word out of their mouth is golden. But money doesn’t make them right. And I know with all my heart and soul that this is a fight worth fighting for. The Lucky Friday is our mine too. We’ve spilled way too much sweat, blood and tears over the years to be disrespected like this. It WILL run again, with US in it, and it will KICK ASS as it always has.

ONE DAY LONGER ONE DAY STRONGER Rick “Redman” Norman

Wallace, Idaho