Clinton Urges Caterpillar, UAW to Seek End to Strike : Labor: The Arkansas governor says he takes neither side but urges company officials not to hire permanent replacement workers.
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton came to this blue-collar city torn by labor strife Wednesday and, meeting separately with the United Auto Workers and the management of Caterpillar Inc., urged them to seek an end to their five-month-old strike.
The day after his victories in the New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kansas primaries, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination came here to try to bring labor peace. Clinton said he took neither side in the dispute but urged Caterpillar not to hire permanent workers to replace the 12,600 strikers. Doing so, Clinton said he told company officials, “would set a very bad precedent.”
At the same time, Clinton said, he told UAW officials that they could not blame management for all of their problems.
Caterpillar is demanding changes in seniority rules, pay scales and benefit levels that it says would help it compete with foreign manufacturers. The UAW demands that the company follow the longtime practice of patterning its contract after agreements the union has already reached with other makers of construction equipment. Caterpillar began advertising for replacements this week; its switchboard reportedly has been swamped.
Clinton criticized President Bush for not personally trying to settle the dispute, saying too many jobs are on the line for Bush to ignore the problem.
Gil Nolde, a Caterpillar spokesman, said the meeting was “cordial,” but he acknowledged that the company was less than thrilled over the visit.
“What we’re trying to do is work out an agreement with the union representatives to get our employees back to work,” Nolde said. “The more external influence on that, the more it seems to elevate the issue and make it harder to resolve.”
A UAW spokesman said the union was happy Clinton came.
Whether firms can hire permanent replacements for strikers is a hot issue for unions and management. The House has approved a bill that would prohibit such hiring; the Senate has yet to act. Bush already has vowed to veto the bill. Clinton and his rival for the nomination, Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., support the ban, and Brown is scheduled to visit the plant Friday.
After the meetings, Clinton spent more than half an hour greeting picketing workers outside a Caterpillar plant. Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) and UAW president Owen Bieber accompanied him.
Several workers later expressed skepticism about Clinton’s labor record, noting that he comes from a right-to-work state and has fostered a pro-business climate in Arkansas. “I asked him about that, and he told me the law was adopted before he came in, but he’s against it,” said Chuck Rowan, 64, a retiree. Rowan said he voted for Clinton in last month’s Illinois primary even though he was undecided at the time. “Now I’m for him--if he goes with his word.”
After Peoria, Clinton flew to Philadelphia to speak to the Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO. The Pennsylvania primary is set for April 28.
Then he will head home to Little Rock to rest his voice, on a doctor’s orders. Clinton is expected to resume campaigning at the beginning of next week.
Earlier in the day, as he prepared to leave New York City, Clinton was asked about his high negatives in polls and the continuing widespread doubts about him. “I’m not interested if they love me,” he said. “I want them to respect me and want me to be President.”
Times staff writers Bob Secter and Tracy Shryer in Illinois contributed to this story.
