New York Times, April 12, 2000
U.S. Labor on Offensive Against China Trade Deal
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, April 12 -- Worried that doing business with China will crowd
American workers out of the global economy, thousands of union men and
women flocked to Capitol Hill today to condemn the idea of normal trade
relations with Beijing.
"Don't give China a blank check" was one of the more popular slogans of the
day, appearing on many signs carried by steelworkers, auto workers,
government workers, teachers and others who congregated on a sunny but
brisk day.
Full-trade status with China would allow that country's goods to come into
the United States as do goods from many other countries: without high
tariffs. In return, China would be obliged to open its markets to a
multitude of American goods.
But as he rallied his troops, Teamsters President James Hoffa sneered at
the notion that China can be trusted. "Let's keep China on probation," he
said. "They've got blood on their hands."
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But there was poignancy as well in the chill air, as personified by Mike
Orange, a steelworker from Grove City, Pa. A trustee of his union local,
Mr. Orange has been making and shaping steel for 44 years.
Now, his working days are winding down, and maybe it's just as well, he
said. The plant where he's worked all these years is a lot quieter than it
was in the old days, thanks to spin-offs and downsizing and other features
of the new economy.
"When I started there, it had about 2,400 workers," he reminisced.
And now? "About 25."
===
New York Times, September 28, 1990
Judge Fines USX $4.1 Million in Conspiracy Case
By RONALD SMOTHERS, Special to The New York Times
A Federal District judge here levied the maximum possible fine on the USX
Corporation today and gave prison terms to two top union officials who had
been found guilty of conspiring with the company to obtain lucrative
pensions in exchange for granting concessions in labor negotiations.
The judge, E. B. Haltom, fined the steel company $4.1 million and ordered
it to repay nearly $300,000 to the pension fund, which had illegally paid
pensions to the union officials. Judge Haltom said he had chosen the
maximum fine in an attempt to punish and deter the company from repeating
the offenses. The company was found guilty of 14 counts of conspiracy,
violations of Federal labor law and mail fraud in a four-month trial that
ended in July.
The two officials of the United Steelworkers of America, Thermon Phillips,
62 years old, and E. B. Rich, 60, drew prison terms of two and a half and
three years, respectively. Mr. Phillips is district director for union
locals in several Southern states and he conducted labor negotiations for
locals in the region. Mr. Rich was his chief aide.
(clip)
The case dates back to a period of upheaval in the steel industry in the
early 80's in which factory after factory succumbed to the effects of a
recession and foreign competition. It was a time of retrenchment in which
Birmingham's huge Fairfield Works, with its 3,500 employees, faced a
shutdown.
Mr. Phillips, who sits on the union's international board, was at the
center of the scramble to save jobs here. On Christmas Eve 1983, he and Mr.
Rich entered into an agreement that kept the Fairfield Works open while
granting concessions in the number of jobs and incentive pay and dropping
of all pending grievances. The work force was to be cut by 1,500 employees,
who would retire and receive pensions.
Louis Proyect
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