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The Baronowski family on the front steps of their Cromwell, CT home: from left, daughter Samantha, age ten; Steve Baronowski; Steve’s wife Diane and daughter Danielle, age six, in front. The family faces an uncertain future with Steve’s job at Pratt & Whitney at risk.

A generation without dreams is a generation without hope.

“It’s bad enough they want to steal our dreams, but they’re taking our children’s dreams too,” reflected Spanky Yungkans, IAM member from Local 519 in Phoenix, AZ.

Spanky is one of three IAM members with different backgrounds, varied employers and a combined eighty-seven years of seniority who share a common bond: the need to provide for their families in a world with no guarantees.

Their stories mirror those of thousands of IAM members striving to make the next generation’s dreams come true.

Steve Baronowski, Pratt & Whitney
Steve Baronowski is a member of Local 700 and hails from Cromwell, CT. He joined the Air Force just after high school. After two years of his four-year tour, he married Diane, the girl who lived across the street from where he grew up.

The Air Force provided Steve with a valuable education. Pratt & Whitney needed his skills. In 1985 Steve signed on as a Production Mechanic. He laughs as he thinks back, “I think I was overqualified for the job.”

“All the good, high-paying, prosperous jobs are sent overseas,” said Steve. The future of his two beautiful daughters is his constant concern.

“Corporations look out only for themselves. The U.S.A. is fast becoming a service worker country. College graduates are flipping burgers at McDonalds. Only thing is, soon no one will be able to afford to eat there.”

His eldest daughter Samantha is 10 years old and has her eyes set on being a veterinarian. Danielle is just six, and is too busy being a little girl to think beyond today. So dad is working for a brighter future for both of them.
With his Pratt & Whitney contract set to expire on December 5, 2004, he’s concerned that his job is at risk. Pratt & Whitney has already shipped much of their work to Poland. When Steve started in 1985 there were 17,000 Pratt & Whitney workers in Connecticut. Today there are just 2,400 workers. “There were six plants, now we’re down to three,” he said.

Steve’s wife, Diane, works part-time as a dental office manager and an Avon Representative. Neither job provides any benefits. “If something happened, I’d have to find work immediately,” Steve admits.

The job at Pratt & Whitney is ideal for the Baronowski family. Steve and Diane work opposite shifts to save money on day care and ensure their girls are being raised right. The Baronowski’s share the same challenges faced by many working parents. The demands of shift work and commuting often clash with the needs of school age children and other family obligations.

Despite their different schedules, Steve and Diane must scramble on a daily basis to be there for their kids and to fulfill their responsibilities at work. “Somehow,” says Steve, “it all works out.”

In the November election, Steve will vote as if his livelihood depends on it, and it does.

“Anyone with kids should care deeply about voting,” he said. Steve fears that without a different president, in another four years, “our kids will have no careers.”

Steve shakes his head and says, “If anyone has children and is not concerned, they need to be.”


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