By SOAR member, Dave Kobiela
We headed out for Evansville about 8:30 am, almost a 6 hr. drive. When we arrived at Whirlpool, the police were just beginning to set up barricades, and forming a line across the office lawn. Four lanes of traffic in front of the plant, and they blocked off the nearest lane to give us a safety zone along the roadside. Local PD plus lots of ISP, there were no problems with them at all.
Local news had reported possibly 1500 to attend, but the opinion page said “no way will there be anything close to 1500 people showing up…” Well they were right. The police estimate was 5500! Virtually every Union and Trade was in attendance, many with signs, banners and American flags. A Whirlpool refrigerator was delivered and was taken through the police line to the main office doors, but we were not invited in. 70,000 petitions were in the frig, along with 50,000 that had been faxed or emailed the previous day.
The Company officials on the roof who were videotaping us kind of reminded me of my visit to Korea and the DMZ, (but the North Koreans had machine guns pointed as well as cameras!) Demonstrators came from Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, as well as all over Indiana. Coverage from the media appeared quite extensive, and support from passersby, especially semis who slowed to about 10 mph and laid on the air horn, was very positive.
The press conference was at IUE-CWA local 808, and included the Evansville mayor as well as city council and county officials. Also present were NAACP, CLC, and State representatives, as well as a small business owner and a 19-yr. employee, who shared personal stories. A highlight of course were the comments from President Trumka, who assured Whirlpool and everyone else that ” this fight has just begun…”. He also reported that the AFL-CIO had issued a national appeal, and as he spoke, Whirlpool HQ was receiving one phone call every 19 seconds, average length 2:38!
The weather got bad around Anderson coming home, but it was beautiful blue skies and about 45 deg. in Evansville, with a nice breeze to keep all those flags flying proudly. Of course no one knows what effect this will have on Whirlpools’s decision, but notice has definitely been served to them and anyone else who plans to take the money and run.
By the way, the Evansville plant was top rated for quality, safety and efficiency. Jobs in Mexico to pay $3.85/hr, with no benefits! Please Buy American.
