WEATHERSFIELD TOWNSHIP RMI appeals to end jobless benefits

The company also has refused to pay workers their earned vacation pay.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WEATHERSFIELD -- RMI Titanium has filed an appeal with Ohio's Unemployment Compensation Review Commission, seeking to terminate jobless benefits the state is paying workers locked out of the plant since Oct. 26.
"They want to strip us of any dignity around the holidays," said Todd Weddell, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 2155.
"I'm sure their feeling is that they'll just let these guys sit out there during Christmas and mess up their holiday as much as they can," he added.
Richard Leone, an RMI spokesman, declined to comment.
About 380 hourly RMI employees have been receiving state unemployment benefits totaling about half their regular pay.
The workers, represented by Local 2155 and Local 2155-7, its technical and clerical unit, have been manning informational pickets outside the Weathersfield Township titanium mill. RMI officials locked the plant gates two days after employees rejected a contract offer from the company.
An Ohio Department of Job and Family Services hearing officer ruled late last month that the workers are locked out, not on strike, and therefore qualify for jobless benefits. The benefits were retroactive to the start of the lockout.
Weddell said the state agency has 14 days to act on the company's appeal of the lockout ruling.
Insurance coverage
In a related matter, union leaders will meet Monday with RMI officials to discuss health insurance coverage. The local filed a grievance alleging that members' health benefits should not have been terminated last month because the workers are not striking.
Funds from a USWA strike and defense fund are being used to purchase health insurance coverage for some members of Local 2155 who have chronic and/or serious health conditions, Weddell said. The coverage costs about $875 a month for family coverage.
Union members are also upset that the company has refused to pay them vacation compensation earned in 2002 but not used because of the lockout, Weddell said.
"It's a travesty," he said.
Still, Weddell said morale is high and no member has crossed the picket lines. He said four members have retired since the lockout began.
Despite the lockout, stock values for RTI International Metals, RMI's Weathersfield-based parent company, have been rising steadily. Analysts have said the growth is related to a general increase in metals stock values.
The stock, which trades under the symbol RTI on the New York Stock Exchange, closed Thursday at $15.15, nearly 50 percent higher than it was a year ago.
vinarsky@vindy.com