Stacey Meade Curtis
                                                                                   53568 Sweetspire Trail
                                                                                   Elkhart, Indiana 46514

                                                                                          574-266-1982

 

  July 24, 2012

 

  To Whom Might Even Care,

            Back at the end of 2005 the workers at Vincent Bach, now Conn/Selmer, knew we would be going out on strike. The first of   2006 the company made it known that they were done with having a union that had been in place since 1964 in this plant.

            The company was making money hand over fist but wanted more. Does that sound like something you've heard before?

            I worked at  the plant for 20 years, my husband for 25 years, my dad for 34 years, and my husband's parents for 30 and 34 years. All of these years they paid dues to the UAW.

After 3 years the UAW laid us down saying we were costing them too much money. We sat on that Strike Line for 3 long years fighting a long lonely strike since the union and the company got in bed together.

            I traveled near and far, Washington to Michigan, only by the help of Pat Meyer and her group, L.A.W.S., Inc. Without the help of that group and those lovely people we would never have been able to fight as long as we did. There are no words to thank them enough.

            There is a U-Tube video, stacycurtisConn/Selmerstrike, you can look at. It shows me speaking to our own little hometown council, which, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears.

            In 2009 the strike was over, the union was gone. Bye people, is what I received for half of my life and hard work that was dedicated to this company.

            I spent another 3 long years trying to find work. Either there was nothing out there or they wanted nothing to do with you because I had worked for a union for so long. I felt like I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm so glad that I am a strong willed woman. I don't know how I'd have made it through all of these hard times.

            In 2011 I finally found a job, one I like. I worked on the shipping dock. I made a living wage at a very nice family owned company, Earthway Products LLC., in Bristol, Indiana. It had been a long time since I had seen so much U.S.A. produced products being sold to the Foreign Market. Unfortunately, with this country purchasing so little American made products I have been laid off due to the lack of work.

            Now I am right back to 2006. Two baby steps forward, 6 adult steps backward. I am starting from scratch again. I do have faith that Earthway Products LLC will call me back.

            Right now I am trying to live on nothing again and I am getting way too old for this. The people in our country, especially those who have, by their skilled hard work, helped build this country deserve more than all this stress. We need to be able to work and earn a decent living wage.

            Thank  you for listening,

 

            Stacy Curtis