RMI agrees to release vacation pay to workers

WEATHERSFIELD -- Workers locked out at RMI Titanium since Oct. 26 got an economic boost when the Weathersfield-based mill agreed to release vacation payments earned in 2002 but not used because of the lockout.
The company had been refusing to pay until the workers returned to work, but officials agreed to disperse the funds Christmas Eve, said Todd Weddell, president of United Steelworkers of America Locals 2155 and 2155-7.
Most of RMI's 380 union-represented workers received at least one week of vacation pay, Weddell said, because the company had asked employees to take at least one week of their vacation over Christmas, when the titanium mill is usually closed.
Local leaders have scheduled an informational meeting for members at 6:30 p.m. today at the United Auto Workers Local 1714 union hall in Lordstown. Weddell said the USW Local 2155 headquarters, on North Main Street in Niles, is too small to accommodate all the RMI employees.