On April 2, 2007, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 3520’s contract with the Cleveland, N.C., Freightliner auto plant expired. Robert Whiteside, Allen Bradley, Franklin Torrence, Glenna Swinford, and David Crisco were five employees who had been part of the UAW committee, which had been unsuccessfully negotiating for a new contract with Freightliner. In response to the difficulties in negotiations, the five led a walkout immediately after the contract ended that day. They were then fired for violation of contract.
The problem is that there was no contract at that time to be violated, according to the Socialist Worker.
The five employees subsequently filed for wrongful termination. Wrongful termination occurs when an employer illegally fires an employee, which is one of the things unions seek to safeguard their members against. In this case, because there was no contract in place, there could be no violation of that contract by the five.
Being fired was just the beginning. Local 3520 president George Drexel had the five employees suspended from their union positions because of the walkout, thus denying them the support traditionally afforded to union members who file grievances under the UAW constitution.
“The UAW constitution, in Article 45, Section 1, specifically states that a shop committee person terminated by the employer, and who has a pending grievance, remains a member and can run for any open office,” said Allen Bradley, one of the five former workers.
Representatives of the Local 3520 have not been available for comment on this matter.
The “Freightliner Five,” as the group has come to be known, filed an appeal to the Public Review Board, an investigative body within the UAW, to have their removed membership reinstated. The board is still deliberating and unable to comment.
The biggest problem for the five right now is financial. They are facing two sets of legal charges; one is from fighting to get their jobs back at the Freightliner plant and the other is from fighting to get their membership in the UAW reinstated.
If they can get their membership in the UAW back, then they would have the union’s support to lead a solidarity campaign to raise money for the case against Freightliner.
Without backing from the union, winning the case against Freightliner is nearly impossible for the Freightliner Five. They have been conducting their own solidarity tours, but argue that the backing of the UAW would help immeasurably.
The Five remain optimistic about their case.
“We are hopeful that justice can still be found in America and we will be back working diligently for our Brothers and Sisters in the near future,” the group said in a statement.