| CONGRATULATIONS! to the workers at Degussa in Orange, TX, upon achieving their first Collective Bargaining Agreement. That’s right, after more than nineteen months of negotiations and an attempt by the company to decertify the union, we finally ratified a three year agreement for the very deserving workers at Degussa. They now have a grievance and arbitration procedure, seniority system and practically everything else the rest of us have enjoyed for many years...not to mention pay increases that are unheard of in these times. Most of the workers will be receiving first year increases in excess of $3.00 per hour plus more than 3% in the remaining two years of the agreement.
There are so many people we have to thank, and the following will show that it truly takes the collaborative effort of our entire Council, if not the entire International to achieve this kind of result.
First...our hats are off to the tireless work that General Organizer/Representative Ricky Lawrence did for these folks. His dedication and attention to details is what helped hold these workers together when times were looking pretty bleak.
Second...the help of ICWUC Local 458C President, Ed Delone. Local 458C is the site of another Degussa facility in New Iberia, LA. Ed’s experience in dealing with the company was invaluable in the negotiations as well as his reassurance to the workers as to what to expect next from the company. Thanks, Ed. |
Third...ICWUC Local 130C - How do we thank these guys enough? President Doug Davis and Vice President Victor Williams, on their own time (vacation days) and at their own expense, (not the Local’s expense), picketed the plant site for two days with Ricky Lawrence during which time high officials from the German based company were touring the plant. It is our information that these officials were very unhappy with the local management and the company’s chief negotiator, and in fact, this seemed to be the turning point in our negotiations. Thanks don’t seem to be enough for these two guys. When you look up SOLIDARITY in the dictionary, you should see Doug's and Victor’s faces.
I would like to thank all of the local unions in Regions 3 and 6 that contributed to this effort. Those donations were crucial in sustaining wages for the committee members during these long talks.
The 30 new members at this plant are now members of ICWUC Local 458C and will serve to strengthen and reinforce future talks at both plants. Congratulations to both Local 458C and the new members in Orange, TX. We are proud to have hard working, brave new members in our union. Victories such as this will make all of us stronger and demonstrate what solidarity and unionism means to unorganized workers and why they too should belong to our great Council.
Reported by Art Stevens, Vice President, ICWUC Region 6.
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Orange, TX Negotiating Committee
Left to right: Tracy Youngblood, Tom Day and Mike Dickson

ICWUC Local 458C Executive Board
Left to right….Vice President Errol Broussard, Vice President Kurt Myers, President Ed Delone, Vice President Chris Hebert, Secretary-Treasurer Frank LeBlanc and Recorder O’Neil Darden.
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