Local 761 History

                  .   Local 761 was chartered as an affiliate Union with the IUE on August 18, 1953.

                  .    The focus throughout the 50's and 60's was on wages and overtime.

                  .   After a two-week strike in 1966, the Company and the Union reached an agreement

                      to start paying  " average earnings "  in particular situations ; such as , participation

                      in informative meetings , job reviews and certain temporary reassignments.

                  Specific rules for the equal distribution of overtime were developed . Pay number, 

                      job code,  job rate, and whether or not they received an additional payment for piecework 

                      identified employees.

                 .   101 day strike  ( October 26, 1969  -  February 4, 1970 ) 20,000 + hourly workers

                     at Appliance Park .

                 .   After that strike, the Company started building satellite plants ( outliers ) to put each

                     location in competition with each other and  to keep Louisville from having a monopoly

                     on appliances.

                 .   Layoffs  began in the early 70's .  Thousands of people were  laid off locally, and tens of

                     thousands nationwide.  A new slogan became the rallying cry for the Union -   Job Security !

                 .   Locally, the Union's attention was on the bumping procedure as  job movement was rampant. 

                     Parkwide job posting helped members have more opportunity to get the type of job and

                     preferred shift they wanted or needed.

                 .   The 80's were the beginning of the Special Early Retirement Option (SERO) , that allows

                     members aged 55 and older with 25 or more years of service, the opportunity to retire if jobs

                     are eliminated.   The SERO, also protects some of the younger service employees from layoff . 

                     IEA was negotiated nationally,  as Automation was introduced which enhanced production,

                     but eliminated jobs at Appliance Park .   Employee safety became an issue , as jobs left, members

                     began working harder  and getting hurt more often .

               .     In the 90's , Appliance Park  had 8,500 hourly workers and the numbers were coming down

                      fast,as Appliance Park was not profitable.  Joint Union / Management " Work Out" sessions

                     began ,to get the right people together , to talk  about job efficiency, safety and economics. 

                     The local focus that also was occurring nationally, was , How do you secure jobs ,

                     when "downsizing"  is the marketplace strategy ?  In 1993, the Company and Union developed

                     43 initiatives designed to work toward profitability of the Park  .  This was a local group of

                     management and union leaders who looked at everything from , turning lights and computers

                     off when not in use , to reducing the number of moves in the bumping  procedure. ( 6000 )

                     hourly workers voted overwhelmingly to support the  " Save the Park Initiatives ".

               .     Save The Park  got us through the 90's, but Appliance Park was still not profitable,

                     by the end , Dryer production had moved to Canada ,  Range production moved to Roper ,

                     and  Refrigeration production was reduced to 1 model  !

               .     When the 21st Century rolled around, we were at less than 3000 hourly workers. 

                     Negotiations were happening both locally and nationally, to get as many people

                    " across the finish line "  (retirements) as possible.

               .     By 2005 , there were about 2,500 in the hourly workforce at Appliance Park  ,

                     and local negotiations were basically putting the Union in a " Survival Mode " . 

                     All of the advancements we had fought for as a Union nationally and locally since 1953,

                     were heading toward the history books and another " closed plant " .

               .     We knew something had to be done that was drastically different from anything we

                     had done before.  Today , Negotiations and the eventual  "Local Agreement" centered on

                     the " Competitive Wage " , have put us in the position we find ourselves in today.

                     New jobs, for a decent wage , with great benefits and a timeline to make

                     Appliance Park  profitable with secure employment.

                     Compiled by :  Local 761 IUE/CWA