One of my grandfathers was a coal miner until a mine collapsed right in front of him, killing a man standing three feet away. He emigrated to America and raised his children and grandchildren never to cross a picket line. And I never have.
French strikers in today's France are another breed, though. Here's a story from today's paper. It's normal union-management relations in France to hold executives hostage, block highways, train stations, and factories, and go on transport strikes at the beginning of big holidays. It's also typical reporting in France that in this article the union leader is interviewed, but not the policemen, anyone from management, or the kidnapped executives. The fact that the factory is losing 5 million euros a year is mentioned in passing.
The four directors of Constellium held captive since Friday morning by employees of the business in Ham, in the Somme, managed to escape last night. To the great annoyance of the employees who were protesting a plan social which provides for the elimination of 127 jobs out of the 200 at the factory, which processes aluminum (window frames, bars, structures). A fifth person, in charge of human resources at the site, was initially held but allowed by the employees to leave earlier.
Questioned this morning by France-Info, Benoît Mérelle, CFTC [union] representative, is still not over it. "Last night around two in the morning, our executives escaped with the help of the policemen by the railroad. The police set up a lure by coming to the barriers to ask us what we were going to do.... During that time, their friends helped the management escape," complained the union rep. The four executives slipped through an opening cut into the fence around the site by the police, he told reporters.
"We are not voyous."
The employees, taken by surprise, nevertheless hope for the executives to return to discuss [matters]. "We are not voyous, we won't sack the site, it's our industrial tool," emphasizes the CFTC representative.
Friday, taking advantage of a visit by the president of the worldwide business, Paul Warton, ccompanied by the French director, Hervé Pelcerf, the factory's employees decided to take them hostage. Around midnight, after a fruitless mediation, the employees decided to continue their action.
"The employees are disgusted by the attitude of management," said Benoît Mérelle. "There is no dialogue. We haven't gotten any kind of concrete measure." The unions are asking for promises that the factory will not be closed and support a reindustrialization project which an investment fund has shown interest in, but which was rejected by Constellium, he says. The employees are afraid that the plan social is nothing but a "disguised closing" before the factory could be completely shuttered next year. The management states, on the contrary, that this restructuring is necessary for the survival of the company, while the factory has lost 14 million euros in the past three years.
March 2009. Employees of Sony France imprison their boss for 24 hours. They get €13 million extra and better conditions.
March 2009. Employees of 3M France imprison their boss for more than 30 hours. They get the promise of a minimum of €30,000 for being laid off.
31 March 2009. Four managers at Caterpillar France held captive by employees for 24 hours. The company laid off 70 fewer people and added €1.5 million to the laid off employees remuneration.
7-8 April 2009. Four managers at Scapa France held overnight. Money for laid off employees increased from €900,000 to €1.7 million.
April 2009. Employees of Molex hold two managers hostage. The factory closes four months later than planned and employees are paid for strike days.
July 2009. Employees of New Fabris, a bankrupt auto aluminum supplier, threaten to blow up their factory. They get €12,000 apiece for being laid off.
July 2009. Employees of Nortel threaten to blow up the company. They ask for extra money beyond legal requirements for being laid off. They get it.
January 2010. Employees of Akers, a Swedish metallurgy firm, hold four managers hostage for more than 24 hours. They want €45,000 apiece for being laid off. Management offers €30,000.
March 2010. Employees of Sullair France, a tool company threatened with closure, hold the new boss hostage his first day on the job. They demand €50,000 apiece for "non-material loss."
March 2010. Employees of Siemens France hold managers hostage for more than two days. Management agrees to give every laid off employee €25,000 more than the law requires.
April 2010. Employees of auto equipment maker Sodimatex threaten to blow up their factory. They get €21,000 apiece extra for layoffs.
April 2010. Employees of bankrupt Poly Implant Prostheses threaten to set fire to their company if they do not get more money for being laid off.
23 September 2011. Latest managers "sequestered" by employees: Still-Saxby, an elevator-car factory that is being closed within a year. (Story has six quotes from workers, one from management (not one of those held hostage), one from an under-prefect.)
28 September 2011. Elected representatives in Puy-de-Dôme held hostage for four hours by angry government employees, until freed by policemen.
3 February 2012. Angry parents at a grade school hold the principal prisoner in her office. They took away her telephone so she cannot speak to the media.
30 March 2012. "Exasperated" employees of FNAC, one of the largest stores in Paris, sequester their boss.
Here is an article in Le Monde about this interesting technique for getting your way, with examples. Le Monde adds, "Holding your boss hostage has become an obligatory step in letting your grievances be known."
9 April 2013. Employees of Candia, a major milk company, hold hostage the executive in charge of closing their factory.
6 January 2014. Workers at the Goodyear factory, taking two managers hostage.
2 April 2014. Firemen in Brussels (la francophonie), taking their boss hostage.
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