Union at WCI Steel agrees to discuss contract changes

The union will push forfewer supervisors as a way to cut costs.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Craneman Michael Riynock signed on at WCI Steel almost seven years ago. He's seen the Warren company through some good times, and more recently, some bad.
Now, with the steelmaker announcing a restructuring plan designed to reverse millions of dollars in losses, Riynock, 27, believes his union has no choice but to talk to the company about contract changes.
That may be the only way he and his co-workers can expect to keep their jobs, he said.
"If we're going to survive, I guess we'll have to make some changes," the Mineral Ridge man commented as he left work at the mill Tuesday. "We knew this was coming."
Rob Hanna of Champion Township agrees.
A welder at WCI with seven years' seniority, Hanna, 36, said he didn't know much about the company's cost cutting proposal but he's heard rumors about its continuing financial problems. "Whatever the union has to do to keep me working," he said. "I just want to keep working."
Restructuring plan
WCI announced a restructuring plan Tuesday that would require money-saving revisions in the current bargaining agreement with United Steelworkers of America Local 1375. The contract expires Oct. 31, 2004.
Its plan also would require new commitments from WCI's parent company, Renco Group Inc. in New York, and from its lending banks.
Michael Rubicz, president of Local 1375, said the union has agreed to talk about changes in its current contract but has not yet agreed to a reopener.
"If we have changes that are agreeable to both sides, then we would reopen the contract," he said, adding that his main goal is to protect jobs. "Right now, we've only agreed to discuss."
Self-directed workplace
Rubicz said the union will push for a "self-directed workplace," a concept that reduces the number of supervisors, giving rank-and-file workers more input and more problem-solving opportunities.
The changes he's proposing are similar to those made by International Steel Group Inc. when it bought LTV Steel in Cleveland last year. Other steelmakers are also renegotiating contracts with the USW, including U.S. Steel and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.
Rubicz said self-directed workplace changes would save money by increasing productivity and by eliminating some supervisory positions.
ISG did not cut wages and Rubicz said he does not expect WCI to ask for lower wages. "This is not a concession type of situation."
Talks will go on through the summer, and Rubicz said he expects to see the company and union reach some kind of agreement by September. Some sessions will be held in Warren, he said, because the union wants to involve the membership as much as possible.
He argued that WCI can survive because it is in a niche market. The company makes steel from raw materials, producing 185 specialized steel grades.
Losing money
The company lost $37.5 million in fiscal 2002, its second consecutive losing year. It made money in the fourth quarter of last year, but the losses returned in the first two quarters of this fiscal year, as the company finished its first half, the six months ending April 30, $17.5 million in the red.
The company blames its most recent losses on several factors: higher energy costs, the continuing slowdown in manufacturing, and increased competition from once-idle steel mills that have been reopened by WCI's competitors.
vinarsky@vindy.com