Thomas Steel Strip workers to vote on contract

Workers struck the plant in July.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — A tentative agreement for striking workers and Thomas Steel Strip is headed toward a vote Monday.

The agreement on a five-year contract was reached Friday. Mike Boyle, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 3253, said Friday evening he was on his way to deliver the proposal to workers on the strike line.

About 260 union workers have been striking the steel processor since July. The plant has continued to operate with replacement workers.

Boyle said the union compromised by taking a medical plan that is reduced from 100 percent coverage. Out-of-pocket expenses for a family are 10 percent of medical bills up to $2,000 a year, and for a single person, up to $1,000 a year.

The union agreed to a two-tier wage system in which new hires are paid $11.80 an hour, taking six years to reach parity with full-scale workers at $17-plus an hour, he said.

Under the two-tier system, new hires also pay more for health care. Their out-of-pocket costs are 20 percent of medical bills up to $4,000 a year for a family or $2,000 a year for a single person, he said. Again, they reach parity in six years.

The company also agreed to multicrafting, or job-overlapping in the maintenance department, he said. It will be voluntary for current employees.

Boyle also said the union agreed to get rid of contract language that kept the company from going to another manufacturer to produce the same materials its workers produce.

The union compromised with changes in “justice and dignity” — allowing Thomas Steel Strip to remove workers who are in trouble with the company from the plant before arbitration is completed. “That’s now relaxed, in severe cases,” he said.

Because the union agreed to the two-tier system, the company agreed to soften cuts it made in 2006 in medical benefits for current retirees, Boyle said.

Boyle said those cuts were the main issue in the strike. Out-of-pocket expenses for retirees had been up to $10,000 and $5,000. They’re now up to $4,000 and $2,000.

The contract offers bonuses and wage increases that include a $4,500 ratification bonus; $3,000 bonuses in the second and third years; and 50-cent hourly raises in the fourth and fifth years.

Company officials could not be reached to comment Friday.

The union will have a question-and-answer session from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday, with voting taking place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Boyle said. He said the union expects to have a tally by 6:30 p.m.