UAW 218 Ends Strike

By a vote of 2 to 1 on Wednesday, July 22, Bell Helicopter employees ended their 6-week strike with a new contract.

News coverage from the corporate sources, as expected, painted it as a defeat for the workers. But was it really?

Downside:

The workers only earned meager strike benefits while doing without their usual take-home pay for 6 weeks
The contract they ratified may have been no better than the one they were offered before they struck
Union relations were strained because the white-collar workers in UAW 317 ratified their contract while UAW 218 continued the strike

UAW 218 can walk with pride. The union pulled off a strike with very few scab defections under economic conditions and other circumstances that were extremely difficult.
The outpouring of solidarity from other unions was much better than we have seen in this area for many years. The Texas AFL-CIO, for example, raised $5,000! Even students with no unions helped on the picket lines!
2,500 union members learned lessons that will help them in the difficult times ahead
Say what you will about scabs and sellouts, it's really strengthening for a union to find out who they are
Bell Helicopter management, which must have lost millions of dollars, will think very hard about challenging UAW 218 next time!

--Gene