SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Forty-three employees of engine parts manufacturer Cummins Crosspoint are on strike, which they were prepared to continue until they get the company's attention, said a union official. þþThe union members with Teamsters Local 175 set up picket lines at 6 a.m. Sunday at the operation in the South Charleston Industrial Park, said Luke Farley, a business agent and attorney for the local. þþThe operation was purchased in September by Cummins Crosspoint, a subsidiary of Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins Inc. Since then, the company has refused to honor the collective bargaining agreement in place at the time of the sale, Farley said. þþCummins Crosspoint has tripled the amount employees must pay for health benefits, failed to recognize the seniority rights of longtime employees -- some who've been there for nearly 40 years -- and refused to pay for the repair of their tools, he said. þþÿThey're fed up,ÿ he said of the workers. ÿThey want what they had.ÿ þþFarley said that before the company was sold by Cummins Cumberland, there were no real problems. þþÿIf it ain't broke, don't fix it,ÿ he said. ÿThey're changing things for the sake of changing them.ÿ þþNegotiations on the contract, which is to expire this month, are scheduled to begin Monday. þþUntil an agreement is reached, the union members are ÿprepared to go as long as it takesÿ with their strike, Farley said. þþCummins Crosspoint has operations in West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to its Web site. þþIts employees work on and provide parts for engines, generators and other equipment. þþMessages left Sunday at the South Charleston plant and Cummins Inc.'s corporate office were not returned. þþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
