The United Steelworkers Local 7-00030 and Lehigh Cement Kicked off bargaining for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in Pittsburgh, PA. on August 17-18, 2016. Locals from Mitchell, IN. York, PA. Leeds, AL. and Union Bridge, MD. were present to exchange joint proposals with the company. Topics for negotiations at the joint level include; Insurance Plan, Pension Plan, Vacation Benefit, Dues Check-off and Substance Abuse Policy. The parties exchanged proposals asked any clarifying questions and broke off. No future dates have been set for joint negotiations at this time.

On August 24-25, 2016 local negotiations began in Bedford, IN. the partied exchanged proposals and made revisions and counter proposals back and forth. There were good discussions from both sides in an attempt to clarify positions and reasoning for proposals. The company seems to be focused on greater flexibility to assign work or jobs based more on knowledge and experience rather than seniority. Subcontracting is another issue that the company wants more flexibility in both work to be contracted and compensation for bargaining unit employees while contractors are on site. Both parties will continue to work on these and other issues presented across the table and will continue to have an open dialog and exchange of ideas to fully understand the underlying issues.

Your local Bargaining Committee has heard the memberships concerns and ideas and has presented proposals to reflect that ideology. The Committee is and will continue to let your voices be heard at the bargaining table and will work as long as it takes to reach a fair and equitable agreement. We ask for your continued support and input as we strive to reach that goal. The next scheduled local bargaining meeting will be September 22, 2016.

In Solidarity,
Local 7-00030 Bargaining Committee