May 30. 2012 6:00AM - Last modified: May 30. 2012 6:48AM

ASHLAND – Ashland Industries strike seen as microcosm of Walker's fight with public unions

  
A bitter five-week strike in Ashland that ended this month with some replacement workers hired and the union accepting a “right-to-work-type” concession could be a microcosm of things to come in Wisconsin’s private sector.

Forty-three members of the International Association of Machinists union began a strike April 1 when Ashland Industries wanted concessions. The company wanted to make newly hired workers fully pay health insurance for their families and be able to opt out of joining the union.

The company ended up hiring a dozen replacement workers during the strike, and another 10 or so union members crossed the picket line. Ashland Industries Chief Financial Officer Bob Eder says they weren’t inspired by Governor Walker’s legislation to end most public employee collective bargaining and force them to vote for unionization every year. “I wouldn’t say that. This is something we’ve always thought about, it’s just we’ve never chosen to tackle it in the past.”

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