Labor relations at Caterpillar
Nothing is more familiar on a construction site than the bright yellow heavy equipment manufactured by Caterpillar, Inc. Since as early as 1883, caterpillar equipment has seen use in every form of heavy construction, earth moving, agriculture, and military use. This company was started as a small wooden wheel-producing factory, and has since grown into the international giant and leader in construction machinery production. In 1883, the Holt brothers founded the Stockton Wheel Company, with the purpose of seasoning woods to enable them to be used in the arid midlands of California and surrounding deserts. The wooden wheels manufactured were to be the companies first venture into vehicular products. Taking a step beyond the manufacture of wheels, in 1886 the Holt brothers improved upon an existing agricultural machine, the combine. Replacing the traditional gear system, which was used to transmit power from the ground wheels to the machines inner workings with a flexible chain belt system, greatly reduced the amount of time spent repairing machine breakdowns. The Holts next tackled the biggest problem in agriculture
S A restructuring of overtime pay. Workers will no longer be paid time-and-a-half after working eights hours in a given day or for working on weekends. They will receive the overtime rate only after putting in more than 40 hours for the entire week. During the remainder of 1992 and into 1993, there was little progress made between the union and Caterpillar. Over 58 unfair labor practice charges were filed with the NLRB. Some of the alleged violations consist of discouraging employees from using the grievance procedures, and limiting employees' right to free speech. Then in late April 1993, Caterpillar indefinitely suspended 140 workers because they were wearing T-shirts that read "Permanently Replace Fites!" referring to the CEO, while on company property. By now tensions were higher than could be imagined throughout the ranks, and it was just a matter of time before another strike was in full swing again.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3090
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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