Cequent Towing Workers Picket in Goshen, Ind.

Steelworkers at Cequent Towing Products in Goshen, Ind., say they have had trouble getting vacation time so far this year, according to the South Bend Tribune.

So United Steelworkers Local 9550 staged an informational picket at the company Wednesday afternoon (March 10), and they’re scheduled to meet with company officials today to discuss the issue.

An unscheduled meeting Wednesday afternoon resulted in preliminary discussions on the dispute with nothing being resolved.

The company did not return several calls seeking comment.

The three-hour picket took place at the factory in Goshen.

The union represents nearly 300 workers at the factory, which makes hitches for towing.

“Our work force works hard, 10 hours a day, and despite the bad economy, business is going well,” said Deb Hathaway, grievance chairwoman, in a release from the United Steelworkers. “If Cequent can’t run their business while granting people the time they have earned to be with their families and to schedule medical appointments, they need to hire more workers.”

Hathaway said many workers are being forced to take unpaid excused and personal days to visit doctors. But Hathaway said workers want to take vacation days and get paid for 40 hours.

Hathaway said the dispute began in January when workers were not allowed to take vacation time because of the workload.

“They tell us now it was only for two weeks (in January),” Hathaway said. “Then they said things started to ease up a bit so one person per department could take off. With the size of our plant, one person per department, we are never going to get our vacation used up.”

Robin Rich, union organizer, said workers used to be able to call up and say “this is when I need my vacation or I need to have tomorrow off for my vacation day or I am going to use my attendance bonuses,” and get the day off.

Whether it be a short-term request or a long-term one, they are now getting turned down, Rich said.

“A lady went in and tried to schedule a week off in August and the company said, ‘No, we are not going to let you schedule it,’” said Mike O’Brien, United Steelworkers director for Sub-District 4 (which includes all of northern Indiana).

“They have drastically cut back … to the point where people are saying, ‘If I can’t get my vacation in, what am I going to do?’” Rich said.

Workers have been offered pay back for one week of vacation. But Rich said that is not adequate when you need time off with your family.

Rich said one of the reasons for calling an informational picket was because the normal grievance procedure can take so long “that the whole year goes by and people are not getting the vacations they earned last year.”

“We hope they understand how serious we are about giving people what they’ve earned,” Rich said.

O’Brien believes hiring more workers could solve the problem.

Hathaway said the union understands the need for the company to serve its customers, but hiring more workers could help solve the vacation problem.

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