SK Hand Tool workers at Sears
Ask for support
Norma Trinidad and 20 of her co-workers stood in front of the Sears store on Dearborn Street in Chicago’s Loop, Sept. 18, handing fliers to people as they walked past. These members of Teamsters Local 743 are on strike against SK Hand Tools. They came to ask Sears customers not to buy the tools made by the SK workers.
“They took away our health care,” Norma told people as they entered the store. On Aug. 25, the workers struck because the wealthy French businessman, Claude Fuger, who owns their company had stopped paying their health insurance premiums as required by their contract. To put additional pressure on Fuger, they are asking for support from shoppers at Sears. Sears is the largest purchaser of the SK and Craftsman brands made at the factory on 47th Street.
The workers and 30 supporters were in front of every door of the giant Sears store, which covers half a city block. After leafleting the lunch hour crowd, the workers rallied across the street. Richard Berg, President of Local 743, got cheers from the crowd when he said, “We will fight until victory!”
The workers plan to go to the Oak Brook Mall on Saturday. The Sears store there is having a sale on hand tools.
