Union representatives visit locked-out workers

The Teamsters' caravan also made a stop at McDonald Steel.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Standing amid some of the union workers who have been locked out of their jobs for 335 days and counting at RMI Titanium Inc., Chris Colello said it was a sad but perfect example of corporate greed.
Colello, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 377, was at the Warren Avenue site Friday afternoon with other members of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters' caravan. The representatives, who have traveled to various Ohio cities all week in support of the Kerry/Edwards presidential ticket, were in Niles to show support for the locked-out workers of United Steelworkers of America Local 2155 and 2155-7. The 340 union workers have been locked out for 335 days today.
"This is a perfect example of the corporate greed President Bush has not only supported but helped to perpetuate," Colello said. "This is the very reason we are here: to show there is a better way and to support our brothers and sisters in the union."
Todd Weddell, president of Local 2155 and 2155-7, said the visit was a positive one in that it helped keep the workers in the minds of local residents.
"We don't want people to say, 'Oh yeah, I forgot they were still out,'" he said.
How it began
Company officials locked out the 340 workers last October after voters turned down a final contract offer from RMI management. Workers have manned information pickets outside the plant 24 hours a day since then.
Last month, union workers again rejected a contract offer from the company that called for a three-year wage freeze, followed by pay raises of 30 and 35 cents in the fourth and fifth years, respectively. The unions had agreed to the three-year wage freeze, but asked for 50-cent raises in the final two years.
Company officials have made it a policy not to talk about the dispute except through press releases.
Roger Insprucker, president of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters, said the RMI lockout is one of the most tragic things union workers can experience.
"We don't see as many of the lockouts as we used to," he said. "That's why we're here to show our support."
After visiting RMI, the caravan -- which featured several motorcycle riders and a large semi-truck with the Ohio Conference Caravan logo emblazoned on the sides -- traveled to McDonald Steel to pass out leaflets and fluorescent yellow hats with the phrase "Teamsters for Kerry/Edwards."
Insprucker said the caravan started its journey across the state Sunday in Cincinnati, and has made stops in Lima, Canton and Columbus. The caravan will stop in Toledo today and will finish the tour Sunday in Cleveland.
slshaulis@vindy.com