Image via WikipediaAs temperatures hovered around 30 degrees and snow fell, hundreds packed Findlay's Dorney Plaza on Saturday to rally against Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s lockout of unionized workers.During the "Good Jobs for Our Community" protest, organized by United Steelworkers Local 207L, representatives of the Ohio AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers and locked-out Cooper employees said it is imperative to keep fighting for a fair contract.
Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, said the battle for fair workers' rights is one everyone must be part of, especially as the wealthiest people take more from others.
"All you're asking for is a little piece of that wealth you made for the company," Burga said.
Saturday's large crowd, and donations received from many local businesses, mean a lot for the workers' cause, especially as Cooper officials attempt to bully the workers, said Local 207L President Rod Nelson.
"I want you all to know we're not the bad guys," he said.
With determination and support, the unionized employees will return to work, Nelson said.
Several chants were led between speakers, including "Family needs - not corporate greed." The rally lasted about 45 minutes.
Union members voted down a proposed contract on Nov. 27. Cooper locked out the 1,050 unionized workers the next day. Negotiations have continued since then, off and on, but no further votes have been taken by the union.
One union supporter in the crowd, Sean Mills, said his dad was locked out after working at Cooper for 32 years.
He held a sign that read, "Corporations are not people until Texas executes one."
Showing solidarity at the rally is important, as big companies will otherwise trample workers' rights, Mills said. The rally highlighted that fair bargaining must be done for future generations, he said.
"I like it because it's not just for them. It's for their kids," Mills said of the workers.
Many supporters came from outside Findlay, including Barb Phillips of Ashland, who carried a sign that read, "It's better to bargain than to beg."
As a bus driver, she said she wanted to support the union's cause.
"Strong labor equals a prosperous community," Phillips said.
Anthony Runion, who has worked at the Cooper plant for five years, said the negotiations are an example of how American businesses have become.
"You got to stop corporate greed," he said. "This nation is going down the tube."
Those rallying with their fellow union members want to return to work, he said.
"It's such a drain on everybody emotionally, physically, mentally," Runion said.
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