In his letter, published June 22, Pete Cummings was right about CMP workers on only one issue — that their work is extremely dangerous and that they deserve a good wage. I don't agree with the rest of his letter. Here's why:
CMP, owned by a company in Spain, had a $55 million profit last year, yet management wants to radically change the health insurance and pension plans for present workers and retirees while eliminating benefits for new hires. CMP workers have fought long and hard to earn those benefits.
It was CMP workers themselves who took the strike vote, not union bosses.
CMP workers do not want to strike; no one wins in a strike. But what choice is given them other than to roll over and bow down to corporate greed. They have been working without a contract for some time now. How long should they have to go without one?
The benefits that CMP workers enjoy are what all workers should have. It's time for those who don't have such benefits to ask why not, rather than to criticize those who do.
Does anyone believe that having health insurance and a pension are something special while the owners make millions in profits?
Joseph Mailey, Auburn