Thank-you letter to workers who spoke out about Smith Corona

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We are writing you to thank you for the extremely important
contribution you made to our investigation of Smith Corona, and
to say that we appreciate your courage in taking a public stand
as you did at our press conference. ¥eu-mayfeetthatnetiing was

~accomplisted;-~Gimec \ were unable to bring a suit against the
company under the federal plant closing notification law, but we
believe that_our investigation, and your statements to the media,
will make«seme-difference in the ongoing struggle to protect the
rights of workers in conflicts with abusive employers.

The Tompkins/Cortland Labor Coalition has sent the results
of our investigation to the Sugar Law Center in Detroit, where it
will be used to document for congress the need for a stronger
federal law to guarantee adequate notice of layoff. We have also
sent information about the Smith Corona case to New York
Assemblyman Frank Barbaro, who will use your testimony to gain
support for a state plant closing law. And we have written to
Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, who sponsored Smith Corona’s
request for a federal tax exemption as a Foreign Trade subzone,
telling him that in view of the company’s deplorable treatment of
its employees it should lose this benefit.

It is extremely frustrating to see that Smith Corona’s poor
treatment of at least 1000 employees will be allowed to stand
without compensation for those individuals such as yourself who
have lost so much. But at least the company has not been able to
harm so many people without some public condemnation of their
actions. The bad publicity they got from the evidence we
presented and the stories you told has certainly put some tarnish
on the reputation of the company. We hope other employers in the
area will take note that even unorganized workers have some power
to fight back when their rights are abused.

Finally, we want to tell you that the Coalition is willing
and able to help any workers in Tompkins or Cortland counties who
want to organize a union in their workplace. In the end,
organized workers have many more resources to protect themselves
against employers like Smith Corona.

In Solidarity,