ATI union reports 'no progress' on contract talks amid sagging morale

Allegheny Technologies Inc. has resumed negotiations with the United Steelworkers, but union leaders reported Friday having made “no progress” a month before their existing contract is set to expire.

Todd Barbiaux, president of United Steelworkers Local 1196, which represents union employees at ATI’s Brackenridge facility in Harrison, said lingering uncertainty regarding the contract has taken a toll on employees.

Local workers also have been rattled by recent waves of layoffs — with up to 200 positions to be eliminated in the Alle-Kiski Valley by summer — and the looming shuttering of the melt shop at the Brackenridge site.

“I’ve never seen a workforce with a morale so deflated,” Barbiaux said. “If they want to boost morale, they need to invest in the human asset — the hands-on steel people — and make us feel important again.”

The last contract was approved in 2016 after a six-month lockout, the first in the company’s history.

“We look forward to a competitive multi-year contract that allows us to succeed in this challenging environment, ensures mutual long-term stability for our employees and operations, and gives our customers confidence to count on us to deliver on time, without disruption,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said Friday by email. “Securing a competitive labor agreement is an important step toward creating that stability.”

Union officials are asking for “fair wage increases, quality health care and retirement security.”

Employees haven’t gotten a raise in seven years, Barbiaux said.

“While we continue to review main table items, there has been no progress on them,” the USW/ATI Negotiating Committee said in a statement. “We remain far apart on issues like wages, health care, pensions, contracting out, the effects of announced shutdowns and other items regarding economic security and employment security.”

The contract affects about 1,300 workers at nine locations.

Negotiations initially started in January of last year. Dozens of USW members rallied outside ATI’s Harrison facility in late February clamoring for better wages and benefits, then in March both sides agreed to a one-year extension while grappling with the pandemic.

The extended contract is set to end Feb. 28.

The union’s update on the stalled contract talks comes a day after ATI’s executives released the global producer of specialty metals’ fourth-quarter financial results, which showed the company had $1.12 billion in losses in the last three months of 2020, compared to making $258 million in net income the previous year. The bulk of those losses were attributed to a major restructuring and related one-time charges, in addition to less demand for many types of products during the pandemic.

Still, executives said they were pleased the results outperformed expectations and voiced confidence in the financial strength of the company.

The quarterly financial report predicted strong performance in the second half of 2021 as ATI changes its focus from standard stainless steel sheets to specialty metals for aerospace, defense and energy clients.

Up to $85 million in upgrades will be invested into ATI’s Vandergrift site as part of that transition.

The union pointed out that ATI has $646 million in cash on hand and liquidity of more than $950 million — a record high for the Pittsburgh-based company.

On a positive note, Barbiaux credited ATI with doing a thorough job helping workers minimize the threat of covid-19.

“They did an excellent job of keeping the facility sanitized and trying to keep us safe,” he said.

In Pennsylvania, the United Steelworkers contract with ATI covers workers in two Harrison site, the Brackenridge works and lab in Natrona Heights; Latrobe; Vandergrift, and Washington. Other locations are Lockport, N.Y., Louisville, Ohio; New Bedford, Mass.; and Waterbury, Conn. It also includes USW Local 7150 in Albany, Ore.

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