WCI STEEL Union weighs offer

By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- WCI Steel veteran John Webster says he won't hesitate to vote "yes" on a new four-year union contract with the Warren steelmaker.
For him, it means $50,000 in cash and a chance to retire at 53.
"I'm gonna' take it and run," Webster said Thursday after reviewing a glossy, 23-page contract summary mailed out this week to 1,330 members of United Steelworkers of America Local 1375. Union leaders are endorsing the agreement, which members will vote July 15.
A 34-year WCI employee, Webster ranks among the 250 most-senior workers eligible for a buyout plan under the tentative agreement. He's also hoping, however, that the cost-cutting measures included in the pact will provide the savings WCI needs to continue operating profitably long-term.
"My grandpa worked in this mill, and so did my uncle and my Dad," he said. "I want to see it survive."
Union leader's view
Local 1375 president Mike Rubicz said he thinks the tentative agreement is the best the union can hope for, considering that WCI is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and in light of a recent steel industry crisis that caused many mills to go under.
Ratification by union members is a necessary part of WCI's plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection, with financing from its parent company, New York-based Renco Group.
WCI's creditors are voting by mail on the company's reorganization plan and a competing plan devised by investors who hold more than $324 million of the company's secured bonds.
The bondholders do not have a negotiated agreement with the union, though they maintain they came very close to reaching a contract with union leaders. Rubicz disagreed, saying the bondholders never met with him or any other Local 1375 official.
Wages
Hourly wages under the proposed pact are comparable to those at Cleveland-based International Steel Group. Pay would increase by 94 cents to $1.28 an hour over the life of the agreement.
Hourly pay for maintenance and production workers would range from $15.45 to $21.12 the first year, rising to a range of $16.39 to $22.40 by March 31, 2007.
Pay for office and clerical employees would range from $17 to $19.83 at the beginning of the contract, rising to $18.03 to $21.03 in four years.
The contract would change the worker/supervisor ratio, now around 3/1, down to 4/1 and eventually to 5/1. Production and maintenance workers would be divided under seven job descriptions in five job classes, compared to 34 job classes now. Office and clerical workers, now in 16 job classes, would be divided among three job classes.
Informational meetings on the proposed agreement are set for 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. June 28 at the Local 1375 union hall.
vinarsky@vindy.com