Mechanics Face Doubt, Uncertainty On Picket Line

Rugambwa Smart has been a mechanic for 17 years with Northwest. "I'm disappointed with . . . having to strike," he said. Married with three children, the Waldorf resident said he knows how to do home repairs and may try to get by on that. "It's hard, after giving so much of my life to this."

Kuhns, who is married with young sons, said he has saved enough money to get by and lives within his means. But he has been looking for other work. "I can't stay out here [on the picket line] forever," he said.

Marvel Foster, a divorced mother of five grown children, said she believed she had to be on the picket line as a matter of self-respect. The Fort Washington resident has spent 10 years with the company as a tech assistant, cleaning and servicing planes. Foster and others were hoping for an understanding between the union and the airline, but, she said, "I do know there is life after this."

Foster has been looking at other options. But for now, she will hold out hope something good can come of the situation. "What we are standing up for is very important."

Ten years ago, when she first got the job, she was paid $6.65 an hour and drove 100 miles on her commute to and from Baltimore. "I tried to set an example for my kids that you don't quit," she said.

Foster said that one day, when her youngest was due to go to college, she threw her paycheck down on the kitchen table and said, "Don't ever let your paycheck look like this."

Saturday morning, before she drove to the picket line, she called her youngest son to tell him where she was going. "You told me 10 years ago don't quit," he told her.

Foster promised her son she would not quit. She could just give it up and be a grandmother, she said, but it's not time for that yet. "I'm 57. I'm not ready to sit down yet."

Mike Beauman, 44, also worked in Atlanta and came to Washington for Northwest when that facility was shut down. Beauman's move had a silver lining because his three children lived here with their mother. He moved to Laurel and often had a chance to see his children, ages 13, 14 and 16.

"But without this job, I'm not sure I'm able to afford this area. I have no money put away because it's so expensive here," he said.

"We all knew it was coming, but I was always holding out hope," he said, shaking his head. "I should have been looking for work."

Smith also is planning to leave the area. He will give up his basement apartment and return to his farm. But he'll be back to walk the picket line and stay with friends.

The strike, he expects, will "be a long, drawn-out thing."

Staff writer Sara Kehaulani Goo contributed to this report.