16,000 Steelworkers Accept Tentative Pact at U.S. Steel and More Bargaining News

by May Silverstein, Aug 18, 2008

More than 16,000 members of the United Steelworkers accept a tentative pact at U.S. Steel, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

SETTLEMENTS
USW, U.S. Steel: More than 16,000 members of the United Steelworkers (USW) at U.S. Steel accepted a tentative four-year agreement. The new agreement requires the company to make capital investment in the plants. It covers workers in Granite City, Ill.; Gary, East Chicago, Portage, Ind.; Ecorse, Mich.; Braddock, Clairton, West Mifflin and Fairless Hills, Pa.; Fairfield, Ala.; Lorain, Ohio; Keewatin and Mt. Iron, Minn.; and Lone Star, Texas. USW International President Leo Gerard remarked that the new contract “rewards our members for their hard work, improves the living standards of our retirees and the capital investments that will be made in our mills protects our communities far into the future. This contract is the new standard in the industry.”

ALPA, Delta and Northwest Airlines: Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines pilots, both represented by separate units of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), approved a joint labor contract that will take effect when the two airlines’ proposed merger closes. But the pilots still need to resolve the complicated issue of merging seniority lists and are preparing for arbitration on the matter. The deal brings Northwest pilots’ pay up to the level of Delta pilots’ and includes a 5 percent pay raise in 2009, followed by 4 percent annual raises from 2010 through 2012. It also includes 3.5 percent in equity in the combined company for Delta pilots and 2.38 percent for Northwest pilots.

AFSCME, Philadelphia: Some 9,400 mostly blue-collar workers and members of AFSCME District Council 33, Philadelphia’s largest municipal union, ratified a one-year contract with the city. The ratification follows the July 10 arbitration award to the Fraternal Order of Police and provides a $1,100 bonus with no decrease in the city’s contribution to health care.

AFSCME, Philadelphia: AFSCME, representing some 3,300 Philadelphia city white-collar workers, has reached a tentative one-year agreement with the city. Like the deal reached with the Fraternal Order of Police and blue-collar city workers (AFSCME), the agreement provides a $1,100 bonus, but it does not call for any permanent raises.

AFT, Allegheny Community College: In Pittsburgh, administration at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) approved a contract with faculty represented by AFT Local 2067. Under the three-year contract, the union’s 345 full-time and part-time faculty and staff at CCAC will receive average salary increases of 3 percent to 4 percent the first year and 4 percent to 5 percent in the second and third years.

AFSCME, Wayne County, Ohio: Engineers in Wayne County, Ohio, represented by AFSCME, have a new contract that provides 3 percent wage increases in 2009 and 2010.    

AFSCME, Holly School District: Food service workers in the Holly School District of Michigan, represented by AFSCME Local 202, ratified a two-year contract that provides job security in exchange for a 30 percent pay cut.

WORK STOPPAGES AND ACTIONS
UAW, Chrysler: Hundreds of local members of UAW Local 110 rallied near Chrysler LLC’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., to protest the automaker’s decision to idle the Fenton minivan plant and trim to one from two the number of shifts at the adjacent pickup plant.

NEGOTIATIONS
IAM, Potlatch: In Lewiston, Idaho, the Machinists (IAM), representing more than 265 mill workers, and Potlatch Corp. met with a federal mediator. There have been no new developments in contract talks since workers voted to authorize a strike on Aug. 5.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only. As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.

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