RMI and union fighting over administrative choices
A union official says management's comments are a cheap shot.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
WEATHERSFIELD -- A union official criticized for promoting outdated work rules said it's poor management that's slowing profit growth at RMI Titanium Co.
The Weathersfield mill could produce more titanium with greater efficiency if management would take steps to improve product flow, said Tod Weddell, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 2155.
He added that executives' comments on union leadership are "symptoms of a sickness." RMI's competitors are working with their unions, while RMI officials are blaming Local 2155 for holding it back, he said.
In the first quarter, RMI's parent company, RTI International Metals, earned $11 million on sales of $115 million. Its biggest competitor, Titanium Metals Corp., earned $59 million on sales of $287 million.
The criticism of Local 2155 came Thursday when RTI officials announced they are going to spend $27 million on two new furnaces at a smaller Canton plant. They said they favored the plant in part because its nonunion work force is more flexible.
Union leadership in Weathersfield is holding onto outdated and inefficient work rules, an executive said.
RTI International Metals is going to spend $8 million to upgrade the local mill's forging operations, however.
Rocky relationship
The union and company have had a rocky relationship. The union staged a six-month strike in 1998 and 1999, and the company locked out workers for 13 months in 2004 and 2005 before a new contract was reached.
"It's a shame [company officials] want to play this game," Weddell said.
"The work force has put the work stoppage behind us, but they continue to raise it."
He said the company was demanding $30 million in annual concessions before the lockout, and the two sides eventually agreed to items worth $24 million.
Included was a separate tier for new workers that gives them lower wages, more costly health care and 401(k) plans instead of pensions. Some work rules also were relaxed, Weddell said.
The union granted such flexibility when the company added new equipment in the sheet processing department, which created 20 jobs, he said.
Weddell added that he was surprised by the criticism because he just arrived back from Washington on Thursday where he was part of a union delegation that was supporting the company's efforts to protect use of domestic products in defense spending.
"It was a cheap shot," he said.
He said company officials didn't approach him about the furnaces or let him know what they would need to place them in Weathersfield.
shilling@vindy.com