PITTSBURGH, July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that its members have rejected a four-year contract with Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI). The vote was 824 for and 1,358 against. Some 3,000 members at ATI Allegheny Ludlum and ATI's Albany Ore. titanium operations were eligible to vote.
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The tentative agreement called for wage increases and lump sum cash payments, increased pensions, improvements to various contract language provisions and health care benefits for current employees. Retirees concerned about increased health care premiums lobbied active members to reject the proposal.
USW International Vice president Tom Conway said that the USW is committed to finding creative solutions to fund retiree healthcare without creating hardship for either the retirees or our active members. "Unfortunately, foreign based and non- union competitors bear no such obligation," he said.
Conway said that local union presidents are returning to their plant locations to conduct meetings with the membership that will include strike authorization votes and that, once the meetings are concluded, new discussions will be scheduled with the company.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, with 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. It represents workers employed in metals, rubber, chemicals, oil refining, paper and the service sectors.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Tony Montana at (412) 562-2592
tmontana@usw.org
SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)
