A harrowing tale of decline

If you like a good story, click here to read an Associated Press narrative of the bitter strike at the Vincent Bach
plant in Elkhart.

It tells of workers who dug in their feet and struck the maker of high-end
brass musical instruments only to be undermined by an equally stubborn company and “scabs” who
slipped back into their jobs. Now the holdouts are struggling to survive in jobs paying nowhere near the
solidly middle-class livings they enjoyed.

The union and company both are portrayed as acting
out of fear—Bach positioning itself to survive an onslaught of inexpensive Chinese imports.

The three-year strike wasn’t a happy experience for anyone. The police were called out 300 times.

Any thoughts about the story? How about the larger issue of well-paid Americans betting that their experience
as craftsmen makes them indispensable?