AK Steel: Union proposal 'difficult to review'
By Dave Greber
Staff Writer
Negotiators from AK Steel Corp. and representatives from the union representing the company’s hourly work force met for more than three hours Friday morning.
The second meeting this week marked the 75th time the two sides have come together since bargaining sessions began on Nov. 30, 2005.
Although no specifics were provided by the company or officials from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers/Armco Employees Independent Union Local 1943, which represents about 2,100 local steelworkers, a Machinists spokesman said Friday’s meeting was “more of an information gathering session.”
“The session went good,” Jim Tyler said Friday. “And we’re looking at setting some meeting dates for next week.”
An AK Steel spokesman said Friday afternoon the company would not agree to another session without first finishing a review of the union’s latest counterproposal, which was delivered last week.
The company is taking more time with this latest contract proposal — the first under new international leadership of the local union — because of significant changes in the contract offer, said Alan McCoy, the company’s vice president of government and public relations.
“The proposal we received last week (from the IAM/AEIF) completely altered some of the union’s proposal, and that has made them more difficult to review.”
The proposal was the first the company has received from the union since the AEIF became affiliated with the international in an election held in late July.
McCoy said though the changes are relative to the company’s four pillars of negotiations — health care cost sharing, affordable retirement accounts, no base work force guarantees and a smaller, more flexible work force with fewer job classifications — the two sides are still far apart.
The lockout of about 2,700 hourly workers at AK’s Middletown Works plant began at midnight March 1. Since then, about 500 people have retired or taken other employment, according to the company.
Representatives from the IAM/AEIF said they will continue to hold information sessions each Friday at 2 p.m. at the union hall, 1100 Crawford Street.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2840 or dgreber@coxohio.com.
