Union groups across state support Thombert employees on strike over fair wages

Thombert, Inc. employees and members of the United Auto Workers Local 997, that have been on strike for nearly a month after contract negotiations went sour, were joined by fellow union groups on Aug. 25 in an effort to show their support and bolster morale for those who have manned the picket line since Day One.

Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, said this week was his organization’s 67th annual convention. In addition to concluding the regular convention business and listening to keynote speakers, unions wanted meet the Newton workers on strike who are trying to get fair contracts.

“We are here to show support and solidarity to let them know they’re not alone,” he said. “You’ve got people from every single different kind of union out here right now, the trades, private sector, the public sector. They’re all here and in support of this because they want to make sure these folks know we have their backs.”

Wishman said communities like Newton can sometimes be forgotten about and can get lost in the mix. It was important to the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO to be there for Newton workers, which is why Wishman said members canceled the business they had on the last day of convention.

“Let’s throw everybody on a bus and come down here and show these brothers and sisters that we care and that we’re here for them,” Wishman said in an interview with Newton News. “It’s not just your struggle here in Newton. You have the whole labor movement in the state behind you.”

Every time Wishman goes to a picket line — “there have been so many that have happened, especially in the past three years” — he hears the same things from workers. Many of them know exactly how much their CEO has made since the pandemic, and they also know how much the corporation has made since then.

“They know they’ve been called ‘essential’ for three years, but when it comes time to actually compensate people for being essential, for showing up every day and for going through everything that’s happened in the past few years, they are somehow expendable,” Wishman said. “That’s how they feel.”

To see so many different unions come to Newton in solidarity of the Local 997 tells Wishman that those groups understand and believe workers are essential.

“Not only that, they deserve to be compensated for that,” he said. “…Unions built the middle class in this country, especially in a town like this where you had Maytag for so many years. It was the backbone of this community. When unions do well, it’s not just good for union members, it affects the entire community.”

Thombert, Inc. workers and members of the UAW Local 997 have been on strike since Aug. 1. Thombert is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of polyurethane wheels and tires for narrow aisle lift trucks. The manufacturer has been in business for several decades and operates in Newton and Brooklyn.