Findlay Freudenberg union workers on strike

FINDLAY — Union workers at Findlay's Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies plant have been on strike since 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. UAW Local 1327 members left the facility, at 555 Marathon Blvd., and stood with signs reading "UAW on strike," said Michael Willer, UAW Local 1327 Freudenberg Chair. "We've been going through contract negotiations, and we hit a stall point and we walked out at 11 a.m. today for our strike," Willer said. He said 147 union workers from three shifts went on strike because of "unfair labor practices. "They won't negotiate healthcare at all out of 'principles,' their exact words," Willer said. "We want to be competitive with the area as far as wages … our starting wages don't compare with other jobs in the area." In a statement to The Courier, Josh Barnett, corporate communications manager for Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies, said, "The UAW rejected our proposal for a new contract at our Findlay, Ohio, facility and began a strike at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24. We respect employees' rights to participate in the collective bargaining process." Barnett continued: "We value the dedication and hard work of our employees. Our goal throughout negotiations has been to reach a fair agreement that recognizes employees' contributions while supporting the long‑term strength of the business." Barnett said operations would continue during the strike according to Freudenberg-NOK's "contingency plan." Willer said the union wants to work with the company on making a contract that works with everyone. "What we're looking for is basically to get back to the table, negotiate the healthcare, obviously, wages are going to be involved, for the duration of the contract," Willer said. "They want a five-year contract. That's just too long of a contract for everybody." To Willer, the main thing the union is asking for isn't money, but fairness. "We're not asking for exuberant amounts of money, but they're fighting us on it. Again, money is not the first issue. It's the unfair labor practices," Willer said. "We've got several National Labor Relations Board violations that they've been committing, and we wanted to get that fixed." Willer did not comment further on the alleged NLRB violations. While on strike, Willer and the rest of the union are receiving strike wages from the union. "Strike wages are $500 a week. Most people here make more than double that," Willer said. Willer and the union is going to strike "until the company comes back to the table," and members will be there to help each other during the process. "Everybody's gathering together … Of course, we all expect financial hardships, so we prepared for this. This is something that everybody [in the union] is in agreement on, and we're all here fighting for each other," he said.