'Just Keep Up the Faith': Workers Are Stepping Up to Beat the Coronavirus

Kudos to Machinists Local 1406, right here in Madison!

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/workers-unions-ventilators-coronavirus/

“Every ventilator we get off the end of our line and out of our building is saving a life,” says Trevar Smedal. He works at a GE Datex-Ohmeda manufacturing plant where production has ramped up and shifts have been added so that assembly of the life-saving equipment can continue around the clock.

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That terrifying prospect has given Smedal and his fellow members of International Association of Machinists (IAM) union Local 1406 in Madison, Wisconsin, a sense of mission. “The term ‘this is a wartime situation’ has definitely flown around our plant quite a bit,” explains the 30-year-old, who has been pulling 12-hour shifts since February, without a day off. “We are not going to shut our doors. When everybody else is out there really stressing out about what’s going to happen in the future, we can’t really dwell on that—because we got to get this stuff done. We’ve got to show up every day, and get as many of these machines out to the people all over the world.”

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“They are literally saving lives,” says IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr., who refers to the workers at the GE Datex-Ohmeda plant in Madison as an “inspiration to all of us in a time when the whole world needs to be joining together in solidarity to tackle this pandemic.”

Solidarity is vital. With it goes an understanding of the sacrifices workers are making when they leave the safety of their homes to provide essential services.