Search results for

#Caterpillar

#1 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/04/2006

A few coincidences transpired three years ago and I ended up officially retiring on Labor Day, September 1st 2003.

The first coincidence was that #Caterpillar didn’t allow anyone to retire in the middle of a month. You officially retired on the last day of the month and so your first day of retirement was on the first of the next month.

Another coincidence is that Labor Day happened to fall on that particular day, September 1st.

And finally, I didn’t stay in the creepy place one day longer than I had to. The first possible day of retirement for me was on Labor Day, 2003, and I didn’t waste a minute of worry about whether or not to leap at retirement.

On a side note, I felt it was very fitting because I had spent a considerable amount of time during my last ten working years fighting to maintain my rights as a worker. Considering where we are today on this Labor Day - the war for workers’ rights is all but lost.

I am very grateful to those who came before me. I wouldn’t have a pension or any medical benefits without them. I still think it is important to remember this holiday for something more than a holiday. It should be remembered for all those who struggled, sacrificed and died to maintain rights and a decent standard of living for workers.

I just wish my generation had left a better legacy for our children. The working class of America is in a race to the bottom economically. I could go on and on about all the reasons why I feel that way but I think this link pretty well explains the evidence to support my conclusion. If we don’t find a way to wrestle our government away from the big-money lobbyists, we can only expect the complete demise of the middle class.

MjL

#2 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/06/2006

So much for the timely application of justice in America. The retiree lawsuit against #Caterpillar has finally been given a trial date - June, 2008. Another prime example of the failure of the American system of justice to deal with the excess of business.

People trade the prime of their life to this corporation with the assurance of health care in their retirement and Caterpillar dumps their benefits when they need them the most. I am usually quite proud to be a citizen of America, but articles like this make me shake my head and wonder. How did we give up control of our country to the likes of Caterpillar?

MjL

#3 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/10/2006

Here is the kind of article that makes my blood run cold:

When getting it in writing isn’t enough

Now that I’m finally away from #Caterpillar and drawing a hard-earned pension - I read articles like this and it disgusts me to know our government allows (even encourages) business to treat people with such contempt. We have got to find a way to get our government back on track representing US instead of business.

MjL

#4 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/13/2006

This article from the Journal Star is titled “Falling Prices”. It should read “Fallen Wages and Gasoline Extortion”.

The lead character in the article is a #Caterpillar janitor making $6.50 an hour. This same janitor used to make a comparable $20 an hour in today’s money. Our governments (local, state and federal) allowed Caterpillar specifically and business generally to rob those wages.

The other half of the story is the ridiculous celebration because the price of gas has dropped to an indecent price of $2.44 a gallon. Nothing has happened in the world economy to cause the price to be any higher than about $1 a gallon and that price still provides exorbitant profits.

The pattern of gas price gouging is sickening in predictability. Double and then triple the price, then drop it by a bit and everyone is oh so happy the price went down. When it should never have been allowed to go up in the first place.

Our government won’t allow huge segments of our society to strike for better wages because it would endanger the welfare of our economy. But it will allow mergers like Exxon-Mobile and the monopolistic extortion that results.

I guess it is OK to endanger the welfare of our economy and our citizens as long as a major corporation profits by it. We don’t care if janitors make a living wage or if any of us can afford to drive our cars.

MjL

#5 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/29/2006

We will probably never know what really happened to this frequent flyer, but I am inclined to believe him just because it sounds like the ridiculous over-reaction we have come to expect from power drunk security types who misuse their new found authority to terrorize rather than protect from terror.

I have personally heard similar anti-American rhetoric from a Caterpillar supervisor as he removed a miniature US flag from my toolbox. “This is #Caterpillar —— America is out there”, he snarled while pointing in the vague direction of the parking lot. Terrorists can be found in many roles if you understand the intent of these actions are to belittle, harass, threaten and frighten you — to terrorize you. Of course that is just an opinion. I hope I don’t get terrorized over it.

‘Idiot’ barb gets passenger detained

MjL

#6 Click this link to see Political Cartoons page --> 02/03/2007 #1

#Caterpillar

MjL

#7 Click this link to see Blog page --> 02/13/2008

Michael T. shared this article with me yesterday and I thought it was worth some space on the Blog.

We raged against #Caterpillar and the #UAW over ten years ago that Two Tier Wages would mean the doom of decent wages for not only the next generation —— but our own.

I can remember UAW Vice President Shoemaker laughing at me, calling me naive to think that the stupendously huge numbers of Ford, GM and Chrysler auto workers would EVER have to be concerned. Now who’s laughing?

I’m also more than disgusted with the language used in some parts of this article that serve to belittle the working class. Lucrative Buyouts? Just count the number of times the word lucrative is used in this asinine article to explain the selling out of all current and future generations of auto workers. What is so lucrative about $140,000? That is less than two years wages for many of the upper tier of skilled workers and probably less than a years wage for the moron who released the press statement for GM. It is a terribly cheap price to sell ourselves out for.

The goal is not to reduce headcount but rather to bring in new workers at a lower cost.

That says it all. A small price to pay to create another industry of wage slaves. The article goes on to bemoan the continued decline in sales and profits.

Duh? What morons and idiots run this dump if they don’t understand cutting wages in half only means that many more people who can’t afford to buy their cars? The fools don’t even have sense enough to take the savings they garner by slashing wages to lower the price of their overpriced gas hogs —— they simply stuff it in their pockets and wonder why all the cost cutting doesn’t generate more sales.

[Link is Broken]

MjL

#8 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 03/16/2008

Former Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum, an Ohio Dimocrat who was a feisty self-made millionaire, art collector and one-man roadblock against corporate tax breaks, has died. He was 90. His former chief of staff, Joel Johnson, says Metzenbaum died Wednesday night at his home near Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Back during the era of “Puker” Bush, Senator Howard Metzenbaum sponsored a national law to prevent the permanent replacement of strikers. We were on strike against Caterpillar at the time. It never got enough votes to make it veto proof.
Howard Morton Metzenbaum #HowardMetzenbaum
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar

MjL

#9 Click this link to see Blog page --> 06/26/2008


#Caterpillar

MjL

#10 Click this link to see Blog page --> 08/20/2008

I know exactly what you mean Noah. I was in so many meetings at #Caterpillar where someone was bragging about all the money they had “saved” and I would always ask if they had put the money in a savings account. I always got these blank stares like I was the one who was an idiot. I would always try to explain the difference between actually saving money, as in putting it in the bank and NOT spending it, and just not spending as much as they had planned to spend. You don’t SAVE money by spending it, you save money by SAVING it. Go figure.

MjL

#11 Click this link to see 2009 News Photos page --> 02/01/2009

U.S. construction equipment giant Caterpillar announced Monday that it intends to cut about 20,000 jobs worldwide to cope with plunging sales amid a sharp economic slowdown.
That is the lie for public consumption. The truth is Caterpillar sales were the highest in history. They are simply taking this opportunity to offshore more jobs.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar

MjL

#12 Click this link to see 2009 News Photos page --> 02/11/2009

A handout photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows containment booms set out by local contractors on the Des Plaines River near the Caterpillar plant in Rockdale, IL, Monday, February 9th 2009. About 6,000 gallons of waste oil ran into the river after about 65,000 gallons of waste oil overflowed from two holding pits at the Caterpillar plant early Sunday, February 8th, after a pump failed.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar

MjL

#13 Click this link to see 2009 News Photos page --> 02/14/2009

Obummer finishes addressing employees at the Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, IL, Thursday, February 12th 2009.
Caterpillar CEO lies to Obummer about returning laid off workers if Stimulus Plan is passed. Owens pulls typical GQP sand-bag routine, telling Obama one thing the day before and something else in front of the cameras after Obama quoted him about returning workers. #Local
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar
Obummer (Barack Hussein Obama II) #Obummer

MjL

#14 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/04/2009

We got a letter in the mail from #Caterpillar explaining how they have screwed us around on our medical again. Starting the first of the year they will only pay for prescriptions at #PharmacyWalmart or #PharmacyWalgreens. I’m already getting mine mail-order from Walgreen’s but Mom was happy with the pharmacy at Kmart so now she will have to switch. There are going to be a lot of unhappy people, especially the pharmacies.

MjL

#15 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 03/08/2010 #2

Iranian President Mahmoud AhmaDickHead in Istanbul. Washington has awarded more than $107 billion in payments to foreign and US companies doing business in Iran despite U.S. sanctions, The New York Times has reported.
#Caterpillar is on that list for selling them equipment to build the tunnels used to hide and protect the nuclear weapons material Iran is refining. CAT recently announced they would quit doing business with them but the damage has been done and they cashed the checks.
Mahmoud AhmaDickHead (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) #MahmoudAhmaDickHead

MjL

#16 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 05/18/2010 #5

May 14th 2010 • A de-miner uses a remote control to guide a mine removal machine in the Wanni area of Sri Lanka.
When I was a mill operator at the #Caterpillar Tech. Center I helped to build a “mine plow” very similar to the one in this picture. It was made of very high strength steel and was designed to cause the mines to explode inside the plow. It was designed for anti-personnel mines, not the much larger ones which would destroy a vehicle. It was mounted on the front of an armored vehicle though, not remote controlled.

MjL

#17 Click this link to see Blog page --> 03/27/2011

I can’t help but wonder how destitute our country will be in the coming decades. A recent letter from the bigshot at #Caterpillar to the Illinois governor pretty well sums up the petty greed of the average corporation. I don’t like to pay taxes, but if I have to pay them I think a rich multi-national corporation ought to pay them too. CAT is threatening to leave Illinois because their taxes got raised right along with everybody else.
This company has highways built right up to the shipping docks of their factories by taxpayer money. Train tracks too. Peoria has a major airport (recently remodeled with millions of our dollars). Phone lines, power lines, roads and bridges serve Caterpillar. They even took over the old Sears building property to build a parking lot and paid next to nothing. The city is going to build them their own showroom, pretending it is a museum.

On top of soaking up all this largess from the community that serves them —— Caterpillar has reduced the number of jobs in Illinois by tens of thousands. And CAT is too important to pay taxes? They threaten to have a tantrum and leave if they have to pay for anything.

GE is a major winner on Wall St. They make billions and not only paid no taxes —— NONE —— but they received billions from the IRS. GE is also a major exporter of American jobs. The CEO of GE is the head of the President’s job panel. I can imagine how many jobs they plan to ship to India and get tax breaks for doing it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the state doesn’t knuckle under and let CAT off the hook for taxes. I seriously doubt GE will ever pay any taxes either. And our country is going down the tubes at an accelerated rate. How do we have any future if we don’t require corporate welfare recipients to hire Americans or to pay taxes when they are profitable? We don’t.

Our society is being squeezed dry by the greed of these corporations and the politicians are a major part of this disgusting scene.

MjL

#18 Click this link to see Cartoons page --> 11/16/2011 #4

Exactly! I once had this same reply nearly word for word
to a stupid #Caterpillar manager who was determined make me
sign a list of “goals” as if they were my own.

MjL

#19 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 02/29/2012 #1

The construction on the Peoria Riverfront Museum is 67% complete, on time and on budget.
CAT is looking forward to their new city built show room.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar #Local

MjL

#20 Click this link to see Political Cartoons page --> 05/16/2012 #2

This stupid idiot is gloating over the fact that only
#Caterpillar wins? What kind of moron asshat cheers for
the corporation over the people who work there. It is
this twisted logic that is killing the middle class.

MjL

#21 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 06/10/2012 #4

Caterpillar Incorporated plans to advertise Sunday in Chicago area and Joliet newspapers for SCABS replacement workers for its Joliet plant. Workers at the plant have been on strike since May 1st.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar
SCAB #SCAB

MjL

#22 Click this link to see Blog page --> 06/16/2012

I have been following the workers strike against #SCAB #Caterpillar in Joliet, IL and I find it amusing how excited some people get about wanting to “permanently replace” those lazy workers trying to hold the company hostage. These same people are quite appalled when I say we should “permanently replace” those in the Senate who go on strike repeatedly every day. I can see no functional difference between calling it a “filibuster” or a “strike” —— refusing to do your job until you get what you want seems to work for Congress —— why not the rest of us?

MjL

#23 Click this link to see Blog page --> 07/25/2012

I took the #Honda Hybrid in to the Grease Spot in Pekin for an oil change. I really did feel for the guys working there in this heat; they both looked completely exhausted and it was only 9 a.m.

It immediately brought back my memories of working in the factories of #Caterpillar when it was often above 100°F for days at a time. It just wears you down.

MjL

#24 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 08/19/2012 #1

A strike at a Caterpillar Incorporated facility in Joliet, that had lasted more than 100 days, ended Friday with the ratification of a new contract.
#Caterpillar #Strike

MjL

#25 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/02/2012

I got another one of those pesky phone calls yesterday where the guy mispronounces my name and then launches into a sales pitch. As soon as I heard he was from the #Caterpillar Wellness Program I pushed the off button.

The only reason I waited was to find out how they got my cell number —— it is bad enough they keep mailing and emailing me this crap, now they are calling me on my cell phone.

Nothing makes you more proud to live in America than a call from your #InsuranceMafia representative trying to drum up business.

MjL

#26 Click this link to see Blog page --> 12/07/2012

About fifteen years ago I had an opportunity to speak with a senior vice president of the #UAW union.

I tried to explain to him that the issues of two tier wages, benefit reductions, etc. would eventually come back to haunt Detroit and the auto unions.

He smiled at me and with smug self satisfaction tried to explain to me that the auto unions in Detroit were the biggest and strongest in the world and that just because we were forced to swallow these things at #Caterpillar —— it would NEVER happen in Detroit.

Not only do all of the auto plants now have two tier wages — Michigan will become a right-to-work-for-less state next week.

MjL

#27 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/07/2014

A piece mail that ticked me off was that #Caterpillar is changing my healthcare network —— again. They think they are saving money when all they do is make it necessary to do testing all over again to satisfy yet another health network bureaucracy. So when I need a new Bipap machine or mask they will want yet another sleep study done which is not cheap and is a royal pain and a waste of time.

MjL

#28 Click this link to see Blog page --> 11/13/2014

The world record for the largest sand castle ever built may have been broken in Rio de Janeiro after a team of artists toiled over its construction for almost a week.

The castle is estimated to be more than 12 meters (40 feet) tall and is made of only sand and water, said Archie Lionce of #Caterpillar Inc, which sponsored in part the construction of the possibly record breaking structure.

Enthusiasts hope to break world record for
largest sand castle ever built

MjL

#29 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 11/13/2014 #5

A group of people gathers next to a giant sand castle in Rio de Janeiro. The structure was created by a tractor company seeking a Guinness World Record for largest sand castle.
#Caterpillar

MjL

#30 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 04/13/2015 #3

#Caterpillar

MjL

#31 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 05/13/2015 #1

#Caterpillar

MjL

#32 Click this link to see Blog page --> 01/06/2016

I was reading one of those advice columns on job hunting, resumes, etc. and the question was asked, “Should I let perspective employers put my picture in their database as a condition of the job interview?” Well the discussion was about equally divided and I didn’t really care, I had been transported to the past when my employer demanded a similar thing.

For most of the 1990s we were embroiled in a contract dispute with #Caterpillar. During this time the company employed many methods to harass and intimidate us. Some bright troublemaker from HR decided all employees should have their picture taken and put up on a board in the lobby with their names. I wasn’t very interested in this but decided it wasn’t worth an uproar. So they herded us all into a conference room and had us sit down in a chair in front of a camera set-up. It reminded me how we were lined up for the school pictures in grade school.

I was wearing a bright red UAW union shirt and had a red bandanna around my hairy head. Just before I got to the chair I was handed a blue work coat and told to wear it over my shirt. It was a big baggy thing similar to the lab coats you see morgue workers wearing on TV shows. Oddly enough only people wearing a union shirt were told to wear this ridiculous coat. I was also told to remove my bandanna and make myself “presentable”. I sat down just as I was and they began to make quite a fuss about my “insubordination”. I reminded them we had no dress code and no rules for picture taking. I eventually told them to take the picture or don’t —— it sure didn’t matter to me. So they took the picture.

When the fancy picture array was put up there were a few of us who didn’t have pictures up at all. Then they decided to use the pictures they had taken once upon a time for our identification badges. To this day I am convinced the only reason for that charade was to intimidate those of us who supported our #Union.

Now twenty-some years later it is almost a matter of course that employees will do whatever they are told by any member of “management” for fear of their jobs. It didn’t have to be this way. But America turned their back on unions and the working class. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the whining of those who helped surrender our rights on the job.

MjL

#33 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/11/2016

Many of us at #Caterpillar were also arrested for “criminal trespass” when we had every right to be where we were. Just another example of how big business illegally wields our police force against private citizens.

North Dakota issues arrest warrant
for Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman

MjL

#34 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 09/17/2016 #2

Men demonstrate in Charleroi, Belgium, on Friday after Caterpillar announced it would lay off about 2,000 employees. Signs read: ‘We are not toys’.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar

MjL

#35 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 12/16/2016 #3

Not much left of Caterpillar Inc. Building BB in Mossville. Plan is for debris field to be converted into green space.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar #Local

MjL

#36 Click this link to see Blog page --> 01/07/2017

I found this photo link to an NPR article about Obummer’s progress in job recovery particularly poignant in explaining how generally out of touch the media is about this particular quote ——

“In that way, it was emblematic of how the job market has generally fared since the worst of the Great Recession’s aftermath: chugging along, slowly but surely recovering.”

Those of us in touch with reality realize #Caterpillar employment has not been recovering but has been decreasing. As has most of the major industry in America. The smoke screen is getting thin.

MjL

#37 Click this link to see Blog page --> 03/03/2017

#Caterpillar blatantly broke a number of labor laws for nearly a decade. Numerous charges were filed against them with the federal government and we had a Dimocrat President at the time. Nothing.

NOW the Feds descend upon them in furious wrath because they dodged taxes on the money they squeezed from the workers. Guess those laws are a bit more important.

MjL

#38 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 03/03/2017 #4

Caterpillar’s shares fall Thursday after feds raid Peoria headquarters.
Caterpillar Incorporated #Caterpillar #Local

MjL

#39 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 04/13/2017 #1

#Caterpillar

MjL

#40 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/14/2017

#RetireeBreakfast
I went to breakfast with the old retired co-workers yesterday and the conversation was buzzing about the “health insurance opt-out letter”. I didn’t get a letter explaining what this was about.

So I asked a few questions and it seems to only be a concern for those who retired after 2005, so that shouldn’t be a concern for me.

I decided to call #Caterpillar anyway. What a run around? When I finally got a chance to speak to somebody I explained why I was calling and asked if I was supposed to have received one of these letters. The young lady immediately asked, “Do you mean you didn’t get the letter?”, as if I should have gotten this mysterious letter. I told her to back up a step and explained I wanted to know if I was SUPPOSED to get a letter since I retired before 2005. She put me on hold.

When she came back she gave me a phone number to call. I called the number and it was an explanation about how to get, fill out and return the opt-out letter. Nothing more. Leave a message. So I still don’t know IF I’m supposed to opt of anything or what I would be opting out of if I did.

I call the company benefits number again and the young man I get this time tries to send me to the same phone number as before. I press for answers. Specifically about me having retired in 2003, how would my benefits change. He puts me on hold.

He comes back and says he can’t help me. I have to call this number that doesn’t give you any opportunity to talk to a person, wait until the end and leave a message. They will call back in a couple days. Really?

Next I call the union hall. The lady who answers the call sounds rather harried. She quickly explains if I did not retire on or after Jan. 1, 2005 there will be no changes and I should get the annual benefit letter in November.

So I guess I hope that is correct? I would still like to have this verified by the company because, after all, they have the final say and I do NOT want to get rolled into the company plan that is the default if you don’t mail in the infamous “Opt-out Letter”. Health care shouldn’t be this complicated.

MjL

#41 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/14/2017

#BreakfastAlan
I am amazed that I actually got a call from #Caterpillar benefits this morning to reassure me that the changes to insurance coverage do NOT pertain to me as I had retired in 2003. I suggested in future they might want to send us a letter too so we don’t have to hear this stuff on the grapevine. Retirees do talk to each other.

I got the call while I was having breakfast with my brother Alan. I also got a call from #PharmacyWalgreens saying they had requested the doctor office renew my prescription and had heard nothing back.

That’s nothing new. They rarely renew my prescriptions unless I call at least a couple times. Efficient they are not.

Two phone calls in one morning. That’s more than I usually get in a week or more. And they had to be while I was at the local cafe?

MjL

#42 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 12/11/2018 #2

Powerful sad picture

Michael T.

I sometimes felt this way in my last years at #Caterpillar working for a company making machines that rape the Earth.

MjL

#43 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 05/19/2019 #5

I hired into CAT in the early 70s. At that time the people at the top of the company had an engineering background and training was very important. So was the culture of the “CAT family”.

The accountants, marketing and HR people took over the company.

And #Caterpillar turned to shit.

MjL

#44 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 09/04/2019 #2

People take a selfie by the wheels of BelAZ dump trucks at the Belarusian Autoworks manufacturer in Zhodino, Belarus, August 27th.
#Caterpillar
The strut (shock absorber) at the top left of this photo looks a
lot like some that I machined at CAT. We had to do production
machining on these for about three months while Aurora was being
retooled. I hated those big bulky monsters, especially drilling
and tapping all those big holes in the end to secure the cap.

MjL

#45 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 10/28/2020 #13

Accurately describes almost a decade
of negotiating with #Caterpillar.

MjL

#46 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 11/24/2020 #16

#ToadBarr #Caterpillar

MjL

#47 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 12/01/2020 #1

Protesters hold mirrors in front of rioting police officers during a pro-democracy rally demanding the prime minister to resign and reforms on the monarchy, at 11th Infantry Regiment, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Very much reminds me of the mirrors from our
demonstrations against #Caterpillar.

MjL

#48 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 12/08/2020 #6

Clintoon’s Secretary of Labor suddenly worried
about workers’ rights? Where was he when
#Caterpillar was breaking every law on the books?

MjL

You got that right.
I am so sick of great sounding words coming from do nothings.

Michael T.

MjL

#49 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 06/06/2021 #5

haaretz.com #Caterpillar

MjL

#50 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 09/07/2021 #12

#Caterpillar
Our labor rep would bring around college interns and I would immediately tell them in an open meeting to forget about working for any HR department unless they were willing to sell their soul to the devil. It was a running joke with HR, but I saw some concerned looks after a few weeks with each intern.

MjL

#51 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 10/06/2021 #6


During the #Caterpillar struggle the #UAW lawyers gathered the
committeemen to tell us about the current legal risks and advise
us how to “stay out of trouble”. This provided direct proof of
what was bothering CAT the most and I would immediately seek out
leaders of the Blue Shirts to let them know. The most effective
action we ever took was to be at G.O. in the early morning to
heckle the CAT executives (like Fites and Brust) as they came to
work every day. It literally struck fear in their hearts and they
complained most bitterly to the cops and union about it.

MjL

#52 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 11/13/2021 #5

During the great layoffs at #Caterpillar in the early 80s we were all supposed to train our “replacement”. There was so much misinformation and sabotage caused by people getting revenge it was a wonder we didn’t all get killed.

MjL

#53 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 12/13/2021 #3

#Amazon #Caterpillar
We weren’t supposed to have cell phones at work either, but I don’t
know that it was ever enforced. I know it wasn’t in the contract.

MjL

#54 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 01/05/2022 #8

The big joke with #Caterpillar labor reps and managers was they thought the company trained the workers. All of my training was from fellow employees —— good or bad.

MjL

#55 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 01/21/2022 #12

About once a year CAT HR would drag in a new college intern who tagged along with the company labor rep. I would ask each new kid how much he or she thought the average worker was paid and every one of them would quote the ridiculous figure CAT claimed after adding in all the bogus numbers they claimed for insurance, etc.

I would then astonish them with the actuarial numbers used for negotiations that showed that figure was wildly inflated. It was good to insure that they realized what kind of assholes they were working with. #Caterpillar #Memories

MjL

Another anecdote in a similar vein. I was selected to attend a Lou Tice seminar with various CAT people from across the company. It was a one week “retreat” at Wildlife Prairie Park where we all learned the mental gymnastics of self realization, affirmative motivation, and similarly named pychobabble corporate tricks like Six Sigma, etc.

Rather than allow us to sit with the same people we were told to switch tables every morning and after lunch so that we couldn’t form like-minded groups. Each time there was a ritual where we shook hands all around and introduced ourselves, etc.

There was no way they could tell I was an ordinary blue collar worker since I wasn’t dressed in work clothes. I really noticed the change in attitude when I would answer I didn’t attend college or work in an office.

One thing I will never forget. I was working in the shop so my hands were very calloused and rough. One woman snatched her hand back after our handshake and quietly asked, “What is wrong with your hand?” She had never shaken the hand of a working man and was honestly baffled why it was so “rough and sharp”.

I was never invited to such a gathering again.
I think it backfired on the brainiacs who had hoped to school me.

MjL

Last and not least —— EVERY time some company type would trot out the the benevolent corporation pablum I would explain that the ONLY thing CAT ever gave their employees for free was a calendar at Christmas time, EVERYTHING else was negotiated for and hard won by the union.

MjL

#56 Click this link to see Political Cartoons page --> 01/22/2022 #1

Typical corporate slant slamming the union for representing the wishes of workers. What is left unsaid is the underlying cause of the dissent against vaccine mandates. Instead of providing a safe work environment with isolation and distancing the company decides to put the burden of protection upon the workers making them take the vaccine as the primary action to make them “safe”.

#Caterpillar pulled a similar stunt with air quality in enclosed work spaces. Instead of properly venting the rooms the company banned smoking and required the workers to wear masks.

MjL

#57 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 01/30/2022 #2

Good Gawd! We have weight restrictions on the roads...and on virtually everything that bears weight. Do you want to know how disconnected the elites are? So disconnected they think gravity doesn’t apply if they need it not to.

Michael T.

Reminds me of an instance involving a building manager and hoisting a heavy piece of machinery. Maintenance wanted to rent a machine to lift this machine because it weighed more than the overhead hoist was rated for and the hoist couldn’t get directly overhead. The manager decided they should use two hoists, which together were just barely within specs. The millwrights tried to explain this would put the lifts at different angles and would damage or destroy the hoists. Gravity pulls straight down. He insisted. The hoists were nearly pulled off the rails and were down for a week. Not only did they have to pay to rent a lift, they had to pay the repair bill for the hoists. OSHA should have been involved too. #Caterpillar

MjL

#58 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 02/13/2022 #3

The Decatur workers had built quite a file of bad weld
photos of #Caterpillar equipment out in the yards but
the #UAW International refused to let us publish them.

MjL

#59 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 06/08/2022 #7

In my final three years at CAT I was assigned to a “non-traditional” job helping a computer illiterate math challenged engineer manage the books. (I always thought it was to get me out of the shop.)

In my first two months I tracked down almost $2 million in overpayments and insufficient billing. The guy I worked for took all the credit and got a raise because of it. I got nothing. #Caterpillar

MjL

#60 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 08/14/2022 #3

Similar when I retired. I had turned the entire #Caterpillar prototyping department into a paperless record system. Everything stored on the intranet and links from the desktop they wiped when I retired. They replaced me with one of the ignorant scabs they brought into the office and the fool thought he knew it all. Wouldn’t listen to a damn thing I tried to tell him. The guy I was working for wouldn’t either.

A week after I was gone, over three years’ records of millions of dollars of business all wiped clean. Then they went to the empty file cabinet looking for paper records that didn’t exist. I laughed when they called.

MjL

#61 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 08/20/2022 #14

Once, while I was working in the front office at #Caterpillar, the boss handed me a package at quitting time and told me to drop it off at the front gate at the Mossville engine plant on my way home. He couldn’t believe it when I asked if he was asking me for overtime pay.

He ended up doing it himself. We had a lengthy discussion the next day about his “team expectations” and reality. I was NOT a team player. It wasn’t a game. I made a living working by the hour. CAT gave me nothing for free and I returned the favor.

MjL

#62 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 10/28/2022 #11

I can remember in the 80s some braniac at #Caterpillar decided to
designate a parking spot up front for a selected good employee for a
month. It was always empty because nobody wanted to seen as a suck-up.

MjL

#63 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 11/12/2022 #7

#Caterpillar

MjL

#64 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 11/17/2022 #5

Exactly how I approached labor meetings with #Caterpillar #HumanResources and building managers. They laughed the first time I interrupted the HR guy and told them I would be running the meeting. I got up and told them there would be NO MEETING were it not for the labor contract and I would return when they acknowledged that. It took two meetings.

Thereafter, I would dismiss any manager who started lecturing me about my attitude, behavior or point of view. Equal footing or none at all.

Fewer and fewer managers were interested in meetings if they couldn’t grandstand or ridicule.

MjL

#65 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 11/18/2022 #10

#Local #Caterpillar

MjL

#66 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 01/28/2023 #4

Multiple times I had debates with #Caterpillar managers and labor reps about the word “cooperate”. They always construed the word to mean I answer their questions while they needn’t answer mine.

They required schooling on the meaning of the prefix.

MjL

#67 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 04/16/2023 #7

#Caterpillar smashed a worker flat at Mapleton and pressured the coroner to declare he died on the way to the hospital. They had to shovel what was left of him into a body bag.

MjL

#68 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 05/25/2023 #3

I was involved in a couple Defense Dept. contracts in
Research that made #Caterpillar millions of dollars and I
had to fight to get paid overtime. I enjoyed my work, but
was grossly underpaid considering the value I provided.

MjL

#69 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 07/17/2023 #4

Me too. When #Caterpillar decided I couldn’t get a promotion because I had no college degree I was deemed “unqualified”. It became my instant excuse not to explain things to the people who held the job I was “unqualified” to have myself. “Sorry, I’m too stupid to help you.”

The boss: “If you know the answer, why won’t you share it?”.

Me: “If YOU know I know the answer, why won’t YOU promote me?”

I retired instead of playing any more silly games with them.

MjL

Have known this for a looong time but, you are smarter than the average bear. Your mind works in a way that most of ours don’t.

Michael T.

I blame my Dad. He was the consummate critic.
“You can’t have it both ways.” A constant reply from him.
CAT managers never understood “Work To Rule” either.

MjL

“You can’t have it both ways”
That is it, that mindset is how your mind functions that most of the rest of ours don’t.

Michael T.

#70 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 09/19/2023 #14

#Caterpillar
I had a building manager who constantly informed me of meetings he expected me to show up as the committeeman. I never went to one and always explained (politely) that the contract gave ME the prerogative of establishing meetings. He wanted to show his control over me and always ended up making a fool of himself when I didn’t show. He would also walk up to me when I was in conversation with other unionites and start giving me orders. I would immediately explain to him I didn’t work for him, we were in a grievance procedure and I would file ULP charges if he didn’t leave us be.

MjL

#71 Click this link to see Blog page --> 12/14/2023

#Obituary
I see that Bob Beenders, a foreman I had to deal with at #Caterpillar has passed away. He was the foreman in the machine programming office. A bit pompous and not nearly as smart as he thought he was, but in all not a really bad guy. Obituary

MjL

#72 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 12/30/2023 #6

#Caterpillar

MjL

#73 Click this link to see Blog page --> 01/08/2024

#TinBadgeTyrants
I had a few run-ins with cops during our labor struggle with CAT. One of the most interesting is when two Pekin city police detectives came knocking at my door one evening. They told me they had been contacted by the #FBI and asked to investigate alleged threats I had made against #Caterpillar executives. I invited them in and we sat at the kitchen table while Tracey and the boys made an exit to another room.

They gave me their business cards and I asked them why they were so far out of their jurisdiction. They both seemed shocked to learn they were a mile east of Pekin’s jurisdiction. I told them I pitied them having to do CAT’s bidding to harass a fellow #Union member. They refused to tell me specifically who made these accusations or which “executive” I had supposedly threatened.

I told them I knew of several possibilities of why CAT would send them to my home to harass me. I explained I had recently filed a complaint with the State’s Attorney against Jerry Brust for bashing a young boy in the face with a metal clipboard one morning in front of G.O. Or perhaps it was my many opportunities to shake my fist and yell obscenities at Fites, Flaherty, Brust etc. at the airport or at G.O. Or maybe the regular public access cable shows I produced to air in several communities. Or could it be the multiple ULP charges I had filed against CAT?

They changed the subject after I continued this line of possible union activity for the reason they were being used so badly to represent CAT against people. They wanted to know if I knew anything about jack rocks. I told them of course I did. Everyone on the picket line was aware Vance Security scattered them along the roadside where we parked on the picket line. And after a I went on about all the instances of helping file police reports against CAT and Vance for this illegal activity they once again wanted to change the subject.

They wanted to know if I had ever made any threats against SCABs and I asked them if they thought CAT executives were SCABs? And why ask me about that? The fact is I had to represent SCABs in grievance procedures and I did so diligently because what they could get away with doing to a SCAB they could then do to loyal #UAW workers after a precedent was set. And I told them not to worry, that even though they were doing CAT’s bidding, I didn’t consider THEM to be SCABs because they were only doing their jobs.

After a few more minutes of my veiled insults they eventually seemed embarrassed enough to want to leave so I let them off easy. I think they had hoped to intimidate me and were not happy that I seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to harass them in turn.

I took their business cards to our union president and was interviewed later by the UAW lawyers, but I never heard anything more about it. (Except for some good-natured ribbing from some of the guys who heard about the incident.)

MjL

#74 Click this link to see Blog page --> 02/03/2024

I’m not sure, but I think #Caterpillar screwed up my pension check.
I think they reimbursed my Medicare payments twice, last month and this month again. It is in my favor but I don’t think they will let me keep $597 if it is a mistake. Always before the reimbursement was twice a year in January and July. This is the first time I’ve gotten anything in February. I think I will give it a week or two and see if they correct it. If not, I should probably call somebody.

MjL

#75 Click this link to see Blog page --> 02/03/2024

I might make a call for anybody else but for #Caterpillar, I’d bank it and pay it back when THEY ask for it.

Michael T.

#76 Click this link to see Cartoons page --> 02/11/2024 #2

#Caterpillar tried for thirty years to change my #Attitude

MjL

#77 Click this link to see Blog page --> 02/18/2024

Got a letter from #Caterpillar explaining there was a processing error and they paid me $597 five months early. I thought so. I’m surprised they aren’t trying to take it back. I wonder if somebody got fired?

MjL

#78 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 06/07/2024 #4

A law like this might prevent #Caterpillar Mapleton from killing.

MjL

#79 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 06/28/2024 #10

#Caterpillar

MjL

#80 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 08/22/2024 #2

2000’s? How about beginning in the mid to late 1970’s, accelerating in the 1980’s!

Michael T.

That was the curve for #Caterpillar. I can remember when marketing and the accountants eclipsed CAT management and everything went to Hell.

MjL

Exactly, the basis for my comment. Didn’t know it at the time but hiring in in August of 1973, I came to realize that I got to experience the very end of Caterpillar with integrity.

Michael T.

In 1977 I was in an apprentice station in E. Peoria tool design and overheard many conversations among the engineering types about how disgusted they were with the changes in quality control. They proved to be absolutely right. Quality was the first thing outsourced.

MjL

#81 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 08/25/2024 #12

Reminds me of my new-hire #Caterpillar physical. The “doctor” said my blood pressure was too high when I stepped on the scale. I asked him how the scale told him my blood pressure. He said, “You are overweight, so I know your blood pressure is high.” At the next stop my blood pressure was measured. 98 over 70. I looked at the “doctor” and he shrugged.

MjL

#82 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 10/29/2024 #11

That’s what I did. I hated #Caterpillar —— No party, no
celebration, no free cake for the scabs to eat. I couldn’t stand
the thought of some white shirt foreman spewing false praise for
my years of “service and loyalty”. I never went back.

MjL

#83 Click this link to see Cartoons page --> 06/26/2025 #33

Sounds like #Caterpillar

MjL

#84 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 08/27/2025 #6

#Caterpillar

MjL