"And how are the negotiations coming with the union people at Granfield?"

But the owners' tone changed 180 degrees the next day, union people said.

When the union people read the letter, part of that sentence leaped off the page.

But the union people didn't buy that reasoning one bit.

The union people, however, were not the only ones who walked out.

The group "ranged from union people all the way up to a general superintendent," he added.

"I never thought of union people as interested in the same issues, but they are," she said.

The union people can do what everyone in the private sector does - get over it and hit the pavement.

But his biggest contribution may be in helping union people feel they aren't crazy.

"Longevity benefits and a county car have been taken away while union people got raises," she said.