MILWAUKEE — A labor union has accused Caterpillar Inc. of training nonunion workers as replacements in case next month’s labor negotiations stall.
United Steelworkers Local 1343 said Caterpillar placed about 25 nonunion employees in Milwaukee Area Technical College’s welder-training program, and union officials asked the college to stop the program and return any training materials to the company, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported ( https://bit.ly/Z652tE).
“Please don’t allow MATC to be used as a pawn in Caterpillar’s union-busting games,” the Steelworkers wrote to the college’s president, Michael Burke on Wednesday.
Milwaukee Area Technical College said it received the Steelworkers’ request but added that it has a contract with Caterpillar.
“Part of MATC’s mission is being responsive to the needs of businesses in our district, and this contract is an example of that,” college spokeswoman Kathleen Hohl said.
MATC’s stance doesn’t sit well with the college’s faculty members, said Michael Rosen, an economics instructor at the college and the president of the union representing the faculty. He accused Caterpillar of using MATC and its training program as a bargaining chip, and said his sympathies are with the Steelworkers.
Caterpillar spokesman Jim Baumgartner acknowledges that the company placed nonunion employees into the program. He said the move was part of a normal precautionary plan that Caterpillar goes through for any union labor situation.
