RMI TITANIUM State ruling declares lockout

RMI workers expect to receive checks next week.
NILES (AP) -- Hundreds of Steelworkers were locked out of their jobs at RMI Titanium Co. after they rejected a contract offer last month and are eligible for unemployment compensation, the state ruled.
RTI International Metals, RMI's parent company, had called the situation a work stoppage at its mill in Weathersfield Township, but the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said it was a lockout.
Union members have been on the picket line since Oct. 26, when they rejected a company contract offer that froze wages and pensions, along with combining jobs.
Workers said the company told them not to report to work after the rejection. Those who went to work found the gates locked, the union said.
Reaction
"I'm ecstatic," Todd Weddell, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 2155, said. "It's not like winning the lottery, but it almost is, with the holidays coming up. Along with some help from the United Steelworkers, we should get through the holidays nicely."
A message seeking comment was left Thursday for RTI spokesman Richard Leone.
Weddell said the 380 Steelworkers should get their first check next week. The pay is retroactive to the start of the lockout.
Both sides presented their case to the state hearing officer, who ruled for a lockout because there has been no violence or sabotage during the work stoppage, Weddell said.
"Given the fact this [dispute] has been so well controlled and calm ... he realized this isn't comparable to 1998," Weddell said, referring to a violent 61/2-month strike that began in October 1998.
No talks with the company were scheduled this week because the federal mediator is unavailable, Weddell said. He hoped a meeting could be arranged for next week.
RTI employs about 1,200 in the United States and Europe and manufactures and distributes titanium and specialty metal mill products. Titanium is a strong, lightweight metal used in aircraft bodies and key jet engine parts.