SHARON Workers reject contract extension

A union official said the company wants the agreement in light of plans for substantial improvements to the plant.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
SHARON, Pa. -- Hourly employees of the former Sawhill Tube plant in Sharon have turned down a proposed three-year contract extension from the plant's new owner.
Wheatland Tube Co., through its parent John Maneely Co. of New Jersey, bought the Sharon facility earlier this year and had proposed an extension of the steel workers' contract with wage and benefit increases in order to assure labor peace for the immediate future.
Doug Valimont, president of United Steel Workers Local 1016-00 which represents about 425 workers at the plant, said the union members turned the plan down by a wide margin.
Their contract expries Oct. 1, 2004, he said.
Wheatland offered some additional money, a 401K match and a signing bonus but the union membership felt an extension of the current contract isn't in its best interest, Valimont said.
Changes wanted
There are a lot of language changes the union wants to make in its contract and members didn't want to be stuck with the same agreement for an additional three years, he said.
The company wasn't interested in a full-scale renegotiation of the existing contract, he said.
The company declined to comment, noting that it is still talking to the union about its proposal.
Valimont said the company had indicated it wanted a contract extension to guarantee labor peace in light of its plans to make substantial improvements at the Sharon plant.
The company has sent individual letters to employees pointing out what the extension offered, but Valimont said there are no plans to take the proposal back to the membership.