LABOR DISPUTE SPLITS PEORIA

PEORIA, Ill. -- For Dennis and Steve Dickinson, the labor war between Caterpillar Inc. and the United Auto Workers shakes the family tree.

Between them, the brothers have nearly 50 years service at Caterpillar.

Like their father, Steve, 44, is in management.

Like their grandfather, Dennis, 56, is a factory worker.

Today, there's a distance between the pair that didn't exist before the three-year contract brawl that has divided residents of this city of 115,000 on the Illinois River.

"This thing has changed things. I feel real bad because Steve always came to me for support and advice. He doesn't come to me anymore," Dennis says.

Steve is among 6,000 management and salaried workers who left desk jobs to sweat in factories, trying to keep engines, construction machinery and parts rolling off Caterpillar assembly lines while UAW members strike.

Dennis vows never to cross UAW picket lines, which surround plants in Illinois, York, Pa., and Denver where 13,300 UAW members work.

Each is sure the other is absolutely wrong and making a terrible mistake.

"I love Dennis and I'm concerned he's throwing away a good job," Steve said. "I find it amazing he's gotten to that point like so many others."

Dennis views his brother among the "sad mopes in mid-management killing themselves in the plants." But he's resolute: "They will break down before we do."

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As the strike divides the Dickinsons, so it divides Peoria, the quintessential company town.

In the three-county area, more than one in ten workers draw their paychecks from Caterpillar. Thousands more owe their living to Caterpillar-dependent businesses, from the tiny machine shops that supply it parts, to the utilities that generate its power and the restaurants and stores where its workers and retirees shop.

"Regardless of strides we've made as a region toward ... diversification, Caterpillar still largely dominates the economic picture in the Peoria area," said Tucker Kennedy, marketing director at the area Economic Development Council.

With 7,900 factory workers earning an average $49,000 a year, the labor dispute affects almost the entire Peoria area, Kennedy said.

Caterpillar is a benefactor to many in central Illinois. The United Way Foundation gets $2 million annually from the company; Bradley University recently accepted the first $200,000 installment of a $20 million Caterpillar gift.

When Caterpillar sought allies in an unprecedented media campaign urging people to choose sides, many found it hard to ignore. And the stress of the conflict is dividing families, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

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Because of the stormy Caterpillar-UAW labor history, when the two square off, realtors, car dealers, entertainment venues and shopping malls brace for the worst.

Mayor Jim Maloof remembers the worst. In 1982-83, a 205-day strike crippled Caterpillar and left Peoria in shambles.

"It was unbelievable," said Maloof, a realtor. "Our unemployment hovered around 17.5 percent. There were over 5,000 homes on the market. You couldn't sell them or rent them. And 30,000 people lost their jobs.

"Half the stores downtown were empty. Windows were boarded up. There were food lines. We don't want that to ever happen again."

But he's worried.

Since the last contract expired in September 1991, there have been 11 strikes, including a 163-day marathon and the current two-week deadlock. And still no contract.

Maloof's answer was to organize community-wide prayer meetings. He's gotten the cooperation of about 200 area churches.

"What a horrible situation we're being put into," Maloof said. "Our families are being hurt by this. And it's not fair.

"We have thousands of families who could be devastated if Caterpillar goes through with hiring outside help. Heaven forbid."

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The community's stress shows in the case files at the Counseling and Family Service agency.

"People are feeling a lot of uncertainty," said John Rush, CFS executive director. "It affects more than Caterpillar employees and has ripple effect into the community in general."

Rush's staff of 28 usually handles about 1,000 calls a year. The agency recently started a special group to help couples in abusive situations.

"Union members suddenly have more time on their hands, and management people are working in the plant much more than normal," he said.

"They carry home the stress they are feeling from their employment and it manifests itself in unhealthy ways -- arguing, physical abuse, drinking and drugs."

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"What's the matter with these union guys, making $19 an hour and better medical benefits than anyone in town?" asks a caller to WIRL-AM. "They deserve to lose their jobs for acting like they have."

Morning jock Marc Truelove hears it, loud and clear, each day during his four-hour talk show.

"This company has been treating its employees like dogs for too long," another caller responds. "People can't stand to come to work. They want you to check your brain at the door. Say or do anything wrong and you can be fired. I can't wait to retire."

Truelove's listeners are torn. He gets calls from workers on the shop floors who have crossed picket lines. And he gets angry calls from union members upset over the betrayal.

"The mood of the people is frustration," Truelove said. "Many of the workers feel caught in the middle, and vulnerable.

"Mostly, they are just tired of it and want it resolved."

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The Rev. Kenny Bloyd sees the dispute as a fractured marriage and has offered to help forge a reconciliation.

"As Christians, we place a strong emphasis on reconciliation," said Bloyd of Peoria's First Church of the Brethren.

"We see stress in our church and community, everywhere we go," he said. "We have friends on all sides of the issue -- management, union, picket-line walkers and crossers."

That's why Bloyd and a dozen other church pastors offered to help bring the two sides together for counseling.

"We weren't calling for a return to negotiations," he said. "Let's forget about political and economic issues for a while."

Bloyd, though hopeful, concedes some marriages can't be salvaged.

"Even if the marriage can't be fixed, people in marriages can be reconciled and can have peace," he said.