Dick Dauch, Please Put Them Back to Work, Their Families Are Hungry

Rick Tincher knew there was a problem when the AFL-CIO's main food pantry at 184 Salem Ave. ran out of food.

"It was chaotic," recalled Tincher, AFL-CIO labor liaison to the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area. "It was a fire sale. It was the alarm bell going off."

Food pantry empty.

empty.

And still, no agreement. No contract, no work.

More from the Dayton Daily News:

To gauge the local impact the United Auto Workers strike against American Axle & Manufacturing, simply visit one of the satellite food pantries the AFL-CIO opened in the strike's wake. There's one at 313 S. Jefferson St. in downtown Dayton and another at 1543 Alwildy Ave., opened with the help of the local United Way.

At either location, hundreds of families weathering temporary lay-offs as a result of the strike get help stretching their food dollars. Volunteers load cardboard boxes with jars of peanut butter, sacks of potatoes, cans of soup, stew or pork and beans.

Tincher points to the numbers: In February, the AFL-CIO pantry served 252 family members, packing up 3,780 meals.

The UAW strike against American Axle began Feb. 26 and radiated outward. The General Motors SUV plant in Moraine halted production March 3.

So the March numbers jumped, with the union pantry serving 687 families 10,305 meals.

From April 1-25, 2,686 families drew from the pantry, taking 40,290 meals.

Compared to March and April 2007, the numbers of meals served has jumped 2,389 percent.

Tincher — who emphasizes that he supports the UAW's strike — estimates the pantries have six more weeks of food.

"I've got to prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Tincher said.

When, Dick, when will you do the right thing for your company and the workers who made it profitable in the first place?