McQuay union employees picket

~ Have they not seen the economy? ~

What drove Augusta County-based McQuay's employees to stand on the street and picket yesterday? Union members of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America lined the street and held signs proclaiming they wanted a fair contract from the company.

Right down the street from McQuay, American Safety Razor has downsized to the point where the employee parking lot is overgrown with weeds. In surrounding Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro, hundreds of jobs have been lost as companies struggle in these very difficult economic times ... companies such as Invista, Mowhawk Carpet, Gem Ply, Unifi, Hershey. Citizens have tightened their belts because of job losses, decrease in wages, and cutback in hours.

Is the timing right to stand on the street and protest?