| Show 6V The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday September 4 1988 When mom went on strike it got children Steve Johrion Chicago Tribune Writer (ji etc hen Schulte mother and homemaker had been laboring m a non union shop and Work rules were her burden was growing larger as her job satisfaction shrank She felt as though she had lost her voice in policymaking Her wages were sin ful Fringe benefits9 Forget it The pressures began to build and I finally she snapped just got so mad she says I said Somethings K ‘ gotta give Somethings gotta ’ hange c So in the best American tradition she committed her grievances to cardboard She made 24 signs hand lettered on circular cardboards like the ones you find under takeout piz za She placed them in appropriate locations around her home in Kenosha WTs One of her signs said ‘ Mom on Strike " Gretchen Schulte who lives m a labor town and whose husband Theodore spent 17 years as a Teamsters member had designated herself a union of one for the purpose of going on strike against her own chil dren She stopped picking up after the f ju children She stopped doing their laundry She turned discipline ov er to her hu1 band She toppled her chef s hat chucked her chauffeurs tap She unplugged tne television and radio and had the telephone dis connected Since then Gietchen has sat out side most every dav surrounded by signs explaining to passersby on her busv street exactly whats going on inside the house at 3029 Roosevelt Rd A sign that she keeps updating will sav Day 24 Things have changed in the Schulte household but the strike continues I m prepared to go on The kids twice Gretchen says thought I was ready to give it up We have made real strides and were halfwav through it at least but its not over yet To some this whole notion ma sound like apple pie biting back to others the realization of a dream One would that Presi dent Reagan if he knew about it would step in and order her back to work But to Gretchen 42 it s a simple matter that has little to do with sym The point of the whole holism thing of course is‘ concern for six people she savs We re not trying to hurt our kids We re not trying to torture our kids W e re just trying to love ea h other again Theodore a 47 vear old machine repairman at a manufacturing firm We dis savs he hacks his wife cussed it the weekend before it start ou hear about this all ed ' lie savs the time people wanting to do it She wanted to do it and 1 said Go ahead As the Schultes explain it the situ ation at home had reached a crisis point It was out of control Theo dole savs We would everv night before bedtime go around and pick things up here and there It got to the point where thev were doing noth mg I suppose that s human nature Basic allv was doing everv thing foithtm Gretchen savs And thev tllnual ma In (If i nurse thav Hid 1 he kids aren t loots Theo didn t wake up and sav Let s get Mom I woke up and said nd I do Like the lhcv got me blame for the The final stiau came the night of Ihursdav Juh 14 The four ehil dien two bens and tw ci girls weir at a neighbot s house watching I and G i ti hen had told them to be home bv o (inn of her daughteis came home bin fh and when she p timed to the neignboi s house slu told the other children that Mom had said c mid sa an e 't i hour the t Id I wasi't io’ oil the front pinch chain sm iking waiting for these tils won ii rmg where tin weie T t v atm home' and ’In nth ’ half-expe- about two thirds of the females The couple are tmng to shield their children from the limelight They were not available lor comment for this story but the youngest Jerry has been quoted as saying Some people are saying Good for Mom I say Good for Mom too At first they were amused Theodore says of the children ‘Then they were embarrassed And then they kind of came around to ne gotiating a strike the wav anv other strike would go Indeed a headline on a story recently in the Kenosha News read Mom starts Day 12 after strike talks break down” The story con It tamed the following paragraph w as one big fight said Schulte of ne gotiations This could really be a set back Inside the house with no scab mom waiting to take over the chil dren have had little choice but to negotiate contracts that spell out how some of Gretchen s gripes can be resolved Theodore who has been a union negotiator is ac ting as the mediator and trving to make it as professional as he can she savs One bv product of the strike has been the start of new farnilv practices and of the adult Schultes learn ing what thev do that makes life tough for then childien On Thuis das Juls Jl tin arm v hudagnpt session that Gretchtn desmbes as hev held another merit cathartic It started in the house not out of the house ” she says ‘ The kids they didn t take it seriously at all when 1 had it in the house and 1 had the cardboard pickets up across the kitchen ’ Theodore says "Thev thought Big joke Ha ha Fumy And she said The hell with this I m moving it outside And when she moved it outside thev realized It s not just us the whole world knows’ And God does the whole world know The Schultes have become a national news story They say they have been asked to appear on TV talk shows and have been contacted by film companies ‘Its way out of proportion” Theodore says W'hat we set out to do was straighten out a problem in our house and it s gone worldwide I m waiting for the Kremlin to call ” With the publicity has come con‘ 1 ve been told I was in troversy sane I ve been told a lot of things Gretchen says She has a message for those people Clean up vour skeletons before you come and clean up mine Her friends' reaction has been mixed but she says They re only my friends They re not mv family Still Theodore says ‘For the most part reaction has been reallv lav or ‘ ’ instance that they re working on the one card 1 ve got up there which Is Respect They don t realize that they re working on it but thev are Yet when the strike will end she says ‘is hard to answer I have to know and they have to know that were all very sincerely trying as people lo live together love one another and are trying to change bad habits It s a feeling we 11 all have We II know when it s over Ml of us will know when it s over ‘ They have won their radio back have won one of their back that type of thing” Gretchen savs They hair-blowe- With the children virtuallv grounded and with no TV they have learned to get along better playing croquet and cards Thev have found they can be m the same room togeth er ” she says 'They re starting to ' appreciate each other The house is calmer now too she says and there have been more subtle changes ‘ They don t realize for ‘ ‘ ’ ‘ able For the meetings we have a sign to speak that says Mv turn Ve are people at Gretchen savs that meeting W e are not parents and kids The family started issuing tickets for good and bad deeds andtallving them at the end ot the week Gretchen has been ticketed lor leaving Dr Pepper bottles around The children after an initial flurry of bad tickets for things such as leaving doors open have started to pile up the good ones except among children 1 Among adults he savs I would sav you re looking at about 98 percent of the male population is in favor and ‘ 1 had a stroke Six months ago Bill Byrnes lv Today his life's back up to par The ruts’ stroke left him unable to walk to talk or to remember even his own name Afttr hi- - discharge from the hospital Bill entered a CartAest Nursing Center and began a program of physical speech and occupational therapy Six weeks later he walked out hack to the full indt ptndt nt lift ht had enjoved before his stroke o At CareUest ut offer modtrn facilities a fullv trained and licensed staff and comprehensive rhtr Our goal is to return as manv of our pv programs rtsidtnts is possible: back t r thtir families and communities o Rehabilitation services are often covered under Medicare Our staff w ill gl idlv assist you in determining eligibility or call for vour free copy of Qill 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