United Steelworkers reject ATI’s ultimatum, accuse metals company of bullying striking employees

United Steelworkers negotiators on Thursday rejected Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s ultimatum to compel striking employees to accept the metals company’s contract proposal within the next four days or face a costlier alternative.

“They are again escalating their bully tactics and ignoring the employees, their most valuable asset,” the United Steelworkers union’s ATI negotiating committee told members in an alert issued shortly before 4 p.m. “We will not be divided, and ATI is only prolonging this dispute with its disrespectful and bad-faith ultimatums.”

Earlier this week, ATI told the union it has until 5 p.m. Monday to agree to the company’s latest contract offer.

Union officials balked at what they perceived as an attempt to “break our solidarity through threats.” The United Steelworkers national update accused ATI of using tactics “aimed at intimidating membership” to “deny our reasonable contract improvements” regarding health benefits and job protection.

“I don’t know whether they’re trying to intimidate us or bully us, but, nonetheless, I find it a very unprofessional way to negotiate,” said Todd Barbiaux, president of USW Local 1196, which represents more than 400 workers at ATI’s Brackenridge facility in Harrison.

ATI: Accept offer while it’s on the table

In response to United Steelworkers’ disapproval of the company’s ultimatum — which the union deemed an attempt to “punish” employees for going on strike — ATI officials affirmed their focus “on reaching a competitive agreement that rewards our hard-working employees and positions ATI to succeed in the future.”

Monday’s offer deadline remains in place as of Thursday night.

“We are clearly communicating our next steps so no one is taken by surprise. Every day this strike continues, our employees are losing pay and our expenses for replacement workers and continuing operations mounts. We want our employees back to work,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said. “That’s why we’ve made an offer that rewards their hard work with above-market wage increases and provides excellent health care coverage at an affordable cost.

“We hope the USW will accept it while it’s on the table.”

It’s approaching one month since about 1,300 USW members went on strike March 30 at nine ATI facilities, including the Brackenridge site in Harrison, following the expiration of their prior contract at the end of February.

Barbiaux said unity among members remains strong.

“We survived the strike of ’94, we survived the illegal lockout of 2015-16, and the steelworkers will survive this,” he said. “We’re survivors.”

To keep operations going in the meantime, ATI is relying on a combination of salaried and nonunion workers from various locations as well as temporary hires. If no agreement gets inked by close of business Monday, ATI says its contract proposal “will be replaced by an offer that begins to reflect the costs incurred by ATI as a result of the strike.”

ATI officials would not yet say more about the potential replacement proposal.

However, the company says the lack of a deal wouldn’t grind negotiations to a halt.

“ATI is committed to remaining at the table for so long as the discussions remain productive and are moving the parties closer to an agreement,” Gillespie said.

‘We’re not greedy steelworkers’

Negotiators returned to the bargaining table this week, meeting throughout the day Monday and most of Tuesday. The union reported that ATI broke off talks late Tuesday afternoon by refusing to respond to their counter offer and issuing the Monday deadline.

United Steelworkers negotiators said they understand market realities, but lament that “the management solution is to reduce our compensation as they increase management’s compensation and to protect and improve the ATI stock price.”

“It’s being projected as if we’re greedy steelworkers, but we’re not,” Barbiaux said. “The devil is in the details of their proposal.”

ATI argues its contract proposal provides hefty improvements from previous contracts.

“This is not a concessionary contract: ATI will spend more on our employees over the term of this agreement, not less,” Gillespie said. “Our generous proposals speak for themselves.”

Pay not the issue

The two sides came to an agreement on a pay raise schedule but continue to spar over issues such as health care benefits, profit-sharing and protecting union jobs.

The union has reached “tentative agreements” in terms of wages over the next four years. ATI’s four-year offer includes a $4,000 lump sum payment in the first year and 3% pay increases in each of the subsequent three years.

At the union’s request, ATI withdrew its demands for unilateral 12-hour work days and the unlimited right to contract out certain positions.

To address the union’s concerns related to office and technical job security, ATI said it offered language to protect employees from being laid off because of having their work assigned to supervisors.

The company said it gave the union an updated proposal that maintains premium-free health care until 2024 and offers the same plans to new hires that are available to existing employees.

United Steelworkers negotiators cited concerns over benefits available to future hires, as well as how the proposed health plans premiums are priced.

The union says it presented ATI officials with a counter proposal “that would reduce ATI’s costs and would provide for a cost containment system that has been successful at maintaining or even reducing costs at other companies.”