Guild’s Adopted Detroit Striker
Shares Her Struggles, Insights

Editor's note: The following is a letter from Martha Hindes, the Detroit striker adopted by the Buffalo Newspaper Guild membership. Since December 1995, the local and individual members have donated $8000 to the local’s adopted families. Membership contributions are what makes this program work. Please contact Bill Jerge (3433) or Tom Buckham (5596) to make a donation.

Dear Buffalo Guild members,

I promised you an update, and here's some more detail.

As you'll see from last Sunday's Journal, not one of us still on strike (change that to read "locked out") has yet gone back inside.

There has been a 10J injunction filed to force the papers to acknowledge the strike was an unfair labor practice and dump the scabs. Under labor law regarding the unconditional offer of return made by the unions, they're obligated to get rid of the scabs and take everyone back who's been on strike. There's no ruling yet on that injunction request.

Other than that, it's the usual attempts to get some kind of genuine bargaining going. And, of course, there still are the confrontations with the scum of the earth, including scabs and the Vance security guards, those lovely dregs of society who came to us directly from Caterpillar, some of them complete with criminal records. (The papers like to hire pros.)

The Vance guards are the ones who specialize in intimidation tactics such as trying to run our cars off the road, nudging pickets with their bumpers, following us and videotaping or photographing us wherever we are, coming up to our houses and making sure that we know they're there and in general trying to upset every aspect of our lives, finances and activities as much as possible.

I guess that's an expected part of this effort. Once you've faced off against a seemingly endless line of guards and paid-off police in riot gear, you realize you've got something right going for you or you wouldn't have stood your ground. It's an oddly exhilarating feeling, but one I hope you never have to share.

Michigan's Democratic Party has started hearings in an attempt to pass legislation to require such security police to be only on company property. That's something we need nationally along with laws prohibiting companies from hiring permanent replacement workers. Maybe that's one of the good things that can come out of these many months of strike.

Other than that, we're still hanging in there. Thanks for all your support and prayers.

Your locked-out Guild friend in Detroit,

Martha Hindes