Cement Solidarity Call
USW/Lehigh Joint Conference
IT’S ABOUT FAMILY
The United Steelworkers Lehigh Joint Conference, representing Locals 7-00030
(Mitchell, IN), 8-00031 (Union Bridge, MD), 9-108 (Leeds, AL), and 10-00179 (York,
PA), met again on January 25 and January 26, with Lehigh Cement Company representatives, in an effort to close in on a Tentative Agreement between the parties.
The parties were unsuccessful in reaching agreement.
The Union left the Company with a blueprint for an agreement, and is awaiting the Company’s response early next week.
Here are some of the major hurdles yet to be resolved:
HEALTHCARE
The Company is insisting on a fixed cost for healthcare. This means that employees
will be paying a variable cost and subject to large fluctuations in your healthcare
expenses.
RETIREE HEALTHCARE
The Company wants to burden the most senior employees by increasing the cost of
Retiree Healthcare.
TERM OF AGREEMENT
The Company is insisting on a long-term agreement, even after the Union made it
clear that a long-term agreement under the coming changes in both the cement
industry and the healthcare system make no sense.
The bargaining committee has fought hard at the table for our members.
Now your committee needs your support to drive home the message that you
deserve better for you and your families.
The representatives attending the joint discussions are, for the Company: Jeff Carey
(Labor Relations Manager), Bob Bernat (Labor Relations Manager), Kent Martin (Plant
Manager – Union Bridge), Rick Parker (Plant Manager – Leeds), and Quentin McGahey
(Plant Manager – Mitchell); for the Union: Sean Kirchhofer (District 10 Staff),
Marty Ellison (District 7 Staff), Leroy Atwater (District 10 Staff), Ken Simmons
(Conference Chair – Local 7-00030), John Keyser (Conference Co-chair – Local 8-
00031), Doug Duncan (Local 7-00030), Randall Delphia (Local 7-00030), Tom Eyler (Local
8-00031), Brad Llewellyn (Local 8-00031), Mark Lovvorn (Local 9-108), Chuck Brasher
(Local 9-108), Harold Miller (Local 10-00179), and Nate Sheridan (Local 10-00179).
Shawn Gilchrist of the International’s Strategic Campaigns Department has assisted
the Joint Conference at the joint table. The USW/Lehigh Joint Conference is backed
closely by the International, through the USW Cement Council; which is led by Bob
LaVenture (District 12 Director), Emil Ramirez (District 11 Director), and Bobby ‘Mac’
McAuliffe (District 10 Director).
Committed to Each Other, In Solidarity We Stand!
Text CEMENT to 47486 to receive USW Cement Council Alerts
2016 Volume 1, Issue 3—January 26, 2017