In 1969, my grandfather was a member of Local 9 in Milwaukee.

[ScreamingMeemie]

He worked for the Jos. Schlitz brewing company. My father, his son-in-law, also worked for the company, but as a desk jockey. My dad worked in transportation for Schlitz (and later on Stroh's) for as long as I could remember. I wasn't born in 1969. I came a year later, but my dad talks about that strike (and my grandpa did too) quite a bit. While my father had to walk the corporate line he stopped every morning, looked for my grandpa, and handed him a dozen donuts and a coffee. I guess, listening to the pizza stories has made me think of that.

My grandpa lost his job not long after that strike, and went on to be a Teamster, working at Industries for the Blind. He was legally blind and IFB employed him in quality control. He held that job, and his benefits, until he retired at 70. We got a lot of free "It's not just a job. It's an Adventure" army pencils for school. He died at 80, and, 10 years later, his benefits have come under attack just when my 88 year old grandmother needs them the most.

As I said, my dad worked at Schlitz as a white collar employee. During the strike of 1981, my dad would fly down, two weeks at a time, with one weekend off, to work the line in Memphis. It crushed my grandpa that he amounted to no more than a scab in some respects. There were huge arguments at the dinner table when my grandparents came over for Sunday dinner. That year, the only thing my dad and grandpa could agree on were the Packers chances that year. In case you were wondering, 1981 was not good to the Pack. But, in the end, he supported the fact that my father had to feed his family. The employees were locked out, and Schlitz -as it used to be- didn't exist. My dad was lucky enough to get a job with Stroh's in Detroit, after they bought out Schlitz. That position lasted until Stroh's became a casualty of "trickle down" economics. As the days of his employment drew to a close, with no one to advocate for decent severance packages for long term employees, with the beer industry (much like the automotive industry) laying in shards at the feet of the union busters, my dad changed his mind.

I am hoping it won't come to that for our country's teachers, firefighters and public servants. I am hopeful a lesson will be learned.


This is a great site, BTW, with some great old pictures:

http://content.mpl.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/HstoricPho&CISOBOX1=Brewery+Workers+Union.+Local+9+%28Milwaukee%2C+Wis.%29

[demmiblue]

1. Thank you for sharing your story. K&R

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Thank you for reading it.

My grandpa would be very proud of his state today.