[Peace-discuss] Flex-N-Gate flier revisions / full-text / link to google doc pdf file / where to look for more information

[Karen Medina]

RE: Flex-N-Gate flier revision

I received a few suggestions for the Flex-N-Gate flier and think they
are all great changes. The  main suggestion was to borrow a line from
the Jobs With Justice letter of support and put that line in our flier
as well, so I added the following sentence, "We are hopeful that
Flex-N-Gate will respect workers’ rights and become a strong force for
creating the good, stable jobs that our community so badly needs."

The newest version of the flier is in google docs:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwsZd30sPyMUNDg1ZjljNjYtMWJmOC00MjFjLTgyZjgtMzhhNmE3ZTNhMjkx

If you want any more information on the issues:
Justice At Flex-N-Gate is a good source: http://justiceatflexngate.org/
United Auto Workers: http://www.uaw.org/story/together-we-win
OSHA's hexavalent chromium:
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17052

----- And now the full-text of the flier reads:  ----

 Support Flex-N-Gate Workers

In early December 2011, workers at Flex-N-Gate’s Guardian West plant
in Urbana, Illinois, filed complaints with the U.S. Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleging more than 30
violations of OSHA standards intended to protect against unsafe
working conditions at the plant. At this plant, the employees use
chemicals like hexavalent chromium for chrome plating of the bumpers
they produce.

[“The company has never told us what chemicals we are breathing and
getting on our skin, or how they can make us sick.”]

According to OSHA, workers exposed to hexavalent chromium, a powerful
lung carcinogen, can develop lung cancer and damage to the nose,
throat and respiratory system. Inhaling the chemical's fumes can cause
allergic reactions or asthmatic symptoms, such as wheezing and
shortness of breath.

[OSHA requires that workers must know the proper way to perform a task
in order to minimize their exposure. Employers are required to provide
appropriate protective clothing and equipment. The employer must not
allow any worker to remove contaminated objects from the workplace.
The Cr(VI) standards also include requirements for change rooms,
washing facilities, and eating and drinking areas to minimize
exposure.]

The workers have called OSHA several times to report health and safety
violations at the plant.  As a result they have been facing reprisals
by the employer.

The owner of Flex-N-Gate, Shahid Khan, is a major donor to the
University of Illinois.  Khan owns the Urbana Country Club, is
Chairman of Flightstar aircraft management and charter, and now also
owns Florida’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
The local plant is not unionized.

We are hopeful that Flex-N-Gate will respect workers’ rights and
become a strong force for creating the good, stable jobs that our
community so badly needs.

If you would like to sign onto a letter in support of the employees,
email Jobs With Justice (rbaldwin at seiu73.org or dlj725 at hughes.net).

[Flex-N-Gate  Corporation employs over 12,450 people at 50
manufacturing and 9 product development and engineering facilities
throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and
Spain. And takes in $3 billion in revenue.]

[The Guardian West plant in Urbana is 138,000 sq. ft.  They do metal
stamping, mechanical assemblies, and chrome and nickel plating.]