Workers on the job Wednesday at Borgers USA

NORWALK — Workers are on the job this morning at Borgers USA. A worker there Tuesday said they expected pickets on the line this morning but that did not happen. "We haven't pulled anybody yet to go on strike," Workers United Assistant Manager Carlos Ginard said this morning from Chicago. Workers at Tier 1 auto-parts supplier Borgers USA voted to authorize a union recognition strike on Martin Luther King Day by a wide, 98 percent to 2 percent margin, Workers United said in a release Tuesday. While workers remained on the job Tuesday and Wednesday, the strike is "imminent" according to Sandusky native Doug Warren, Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United (CMRJB). On Jan. 15, Borgers workers delivered a letter to Borgers USA CEO Jochen Hamerling, demanding that the company recognize the CMRJB as the exclusive bargaining agent for workers at the plant. However, the company refused, prompting the lopsided strike vote over the holiday weekend, according to the release. According to CMRJB Manager Kathy Hanshew, "(Borgers) workers do their part. They go to work, work hard, and sacrifice time with loved ones, all in the hopes of making a decent wage so they can support themselves and their families. "In voting to strike, these brave workers are putting faith in themselves and choosing to control their own destiny. Their fight is our fight and we are ready for this strike."