Brothers and Sisters,

    I have been made aware Shell will be taking the short sighted approach of explaining how hourly employees can cross the picket line. I am of the belief they have chosen to do this due to their inability to run and maintain our plant. I have shared my views with Management of the long term effects this will have on our facility, but those people making this decision will not have to live with the consequences for the next 30 years as we will.

   I have been so very proud of the strength and resolve of our members to date and ask and advise all too stay strong. There may be a few who as Judas did are willing to take 30 pieces of silver, but the vast, vast majority of us know we must stand together. Those who would cross will be working without a contract and will be an "at will employee" and while we may have to represent free riders when we have a contract, we do not when they are in the plant without a contract nor do they deserve our protection.

    Working men and women everywhere continue to fight to bring fairness to the workplace but I hear time and again we have lost our backbone to fight for what is right, we have lost our our willingness to sacrifice to maintain the gains we have made for those who come after us but we have an opportunity to show the people who may be thinking of crossing the picket line that we have not lost that will.

A striker breaker sells his birthright, his country, his children, and his fellow workers for an unfulfilled promise from his employer. Where others have a heart a strikebreaker carries a tumor of rotten principals. A strike breaker is a traitor to his God, his country and to his fellow worker.

   I know this will be hard on all of us, but there comes a day we all must stand up, fight back and be counted and for us this day is now. We will continue to work to get information out and to make sure we meet the needs of all our members. We must all stand together; I close with the quote "The true measure of a man is not where he stands in times of plenty, but where he stands in times of adversity".

ONE DAY LONGER

Lee Medley

President USW 13-1