Caterpillar Inc. is preparing for labor negotiations in South Milwaukee this week with contingency workforce planning training for salaried and management personnel.
The training, which readies managerial and support staff for production jobs, is a normal part of Caterpillar’s planning cycle prior to any union negotiations, said company spokesman Rusty Dunn. It’s similar to business continuity planning, which prepares for a natural disaster or disruption.
Peoria,Ill.-based global construction and mining equipment manufacturer started the training in the early 2000s, he said.
A Wall Street Journal article Friday suggested the training was planned to intimidate the 800 unionized workers there who may be considering a strike.
The South Milwaukee plant was acquired as part of Caterpillar’s acquisition of Bucyrus International Inc. in 2011. The current contract with the United Steelworkers Union expires at the end of April, the article said.
There have been Caterpillar strikes in both Joliet, Ill. and Ontario in the last year.
Caterpillar denied the training was being used as a threat and said there is no sign of a strike at the plant.
“(The Wall Street Journal article) makes it sound like a strike is imminent and that, of course, is not the case,” Dunn said. “We’re not expecting and hope there would not be a work stoppage. Contingency workforce training is being prepared to maintain business in the face of any challenge.”
