ATI calls on Steelworkers union to let employees vote on contract offer

As a strike by the United Steelworkers union nears two weeks, Allegheny Technologies Inc. is calling on the union to allow employees to vote on the company’s contract offer.

ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said details of the company’s proposal have not changed since March 29, the day before about 1,300 employees represented by the USW walked off the job at nine ATI facilities.

In a recent message to workers, the union said David McCall, international vice president and chief negotiator, has talked almost every day with ATI’s negotiator.

“Our issues remain unaddressed including health care for new hires, health care costs, funding the (retiree health care plan) and trying to eliminate office and technical union jobs,” the union’s statement said.

Gillespie said the company sees things differently, and sent a message of its own to employees Thursday, which was the strike’s 10th day.

ATI said it had not received a counterproposal from the union. While McCall has taken the company’s calls, ATI says he has not initiated any and has “made no suggestions for a path forward that will work for both parties, while we have repeatedly shared ideas to address their concerns.”

The company says it has addressed the issues cited in the union’s statement and many others

by increasing wages and withdrawing proposals related to contracting out and alternative work schedules.

“Ten days into this strike, we continue to wonder what our employees are striking for,” the company said in the message. “You are highly skilled doing important work … and are accordingly well-compensated. Employees under this contract already earn $85,000/year, on average — nearly double the $46,000 earned by median U.S. rolling/melting operators. And at a time when we’re losing money, we’ve made an offer that increases our spending and rewards every one of you.”

The company notes that while on strike, employees are losing on average $330 per day, or $1,650 per week, in earnings, and that the amount of lost pay equals nearly half of a lump sum payment the company included in its offer.

It says what workers have given up in pay would cover a year’s worth of health care premiums for family coverage, or three years of individual coverage.

“For now, our generous offer remains on the table,” ATI’s message to its workers says. “We’ve repeatedly asked the USW to let you vote on it, and they won’t. USW: Let our employees vote.”

ATI has deployed nonunion employees and temporary replacement workers as part of its business continuity plan, Gillespie said. She would not disclose details about the status of specific operations.

In its message, the USW told its members to file for unemployment.