Union stages walkout at Derry Township's Pace Industries; health coverage costs major issue

Union workers at Pace Industries’ Derry Township plant walked off the job early Thursday morning, after local labor leaders said talks broke down for a new contract with the facility that makes aluminum die-cast parts for customers that include Harley- Davidson and Polaris.

Union President Duke Reed said members of Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 1357 had been working under an extension of a previous five-year contract that expired in May 2024.

He said negotiations for a new labor agreement had been underway since March of last year, but health benefits became a sticking point.

Reed contends Pace’s offer doesn’t provide adequate funding for employees under the company’s Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement. Under that type of coverage, a company can offer employees a monthly allowance of tax-free money they use to buy individual health coverage.

According to Reed, health plan premium costs for union members are due to rise between 11% and 17%, but the company would cover only about 3% of that hike. He argued that, between the rising health care costs and wages the company is offering, workers would experience a net loss of income.

“If it goes up 17%, our workers can’t live with paying 13 1/2%,” he said of the health plan costs.

Union members picketed in front of the plant on Thursday, receiving horn honks from many passing motorists on Industrial Boulevard.

Reed said the union would be willing to end the walkout when the company is “ready to come back to the table and negotiate seriously.”

Voicemail messages left with Pace’s Derry Township plant and the company’s corporate office seeking comment Thursday and Friday weren’t immediately returned.

Local 1357 has more than 200 members, including at least a half dozen with at least 30 years of experience at the Pace plant, according to Reed. That includes himself, a Unity Township resident with 26 years at the plant who works in a trim lead position.

Reed said the plant’s workforce recently has been slashed by more than 100 employees through resignations, layoffs and dismissals. He said some layoffs were justified when plant customers experienced downturns, but positions weren’t restored when customer fortunes recovered.

Jimmy Myers of Derry said he has held various positions at the Pace plant in the past 18 years, including in quality control.

He said employees have less input at work than they once did, while there has been a recent trend of repeated layoffs interspersed with scheduled work.

“It’s paradise lost,” Myers said.