It would take 13 months for his union to approve a contract before he was able to resume duties at Honeywell's flooring plant. Now, 13 months later he is again out of a job. The plant says they are working on repairs.

"We're not sure how long we're going to be without jobs. We're not sure if we should sell our homes and move across the country to find other work."

But some members of 7-669 have already made their way across the country to meet with other unions. Union leaders from 18 different U.S. and 2 international Honeywell facilities meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 27th & 28th.  Five of those unions will begin contract negotiations with Honeywell in the next 12 months.

During a phone interview, Union President Stephen Lech said he was gladly sharing his experience with others, "I don't want to see anyone go through what we went through but if its gonna happen let us help you prepare for it- that's our message."

"We were not prepared as well as we should have been because we thought we would never get locked out so that hurt us at the beginning. We were very unorganized. We didn't know what to do, we didn't do everything right," he continued.

But, there were positives. The group refused to go on strike- meaning temporary workers at the plant remained temporary, while union members hung on to most of their benefits. 

Christian Musselman remembered other unions visiting Metropolis during the lockout.  He said Friday he was glad his union was able to repeat the kind gesture.

"To pass on these lessons, for them to learn from our mistakes- it really is priceless."

A spokesman for Honeywell says the company has 'an excellent record of reaching fair and equittable labor agreements.'