With much of the workforce idled and in limbo, the former Bethlehem steel plan at Sparrows Point, MD has been sold several times over the years, most recently to The Renco Group‘s RG Steel.
As the union-represented workers have waited for word regarding what their union would be negotiating for them, word is leaking out that the United Steelworkers is being less than informative about the new contract while urging members to vote for it:
After more than a month of waiting, Sparrows Point employees have received a 22-page pamphlet from the United Steelworkers union (USW) applauding its proposed labor contract with RG Steel and urging members to ratify the pact via mail-in ballot.
The pamphlet does not contain the actual contract language, but instead is a summary of the contract, replete with charts and color photographs of steelworkers.
The document skirts around many of the controversial terms that have sparked hundreds of comments – mostly critical – by steelworkers in The Brew.
For example, the contract language gives RG Steel the right to impose 12-hour shifts without employee consent. The summary does not mention this fact, but instead tells membership that “AWS [Alternative Work Schedules] will not be implemented without a meaningful plan as to how management believes the schedules will lead to the successful achievement of the operating plan.”
There’s more here.
While the new owners of Sparrow’s Point, understandably, need a contract that enables them the ability to adapt to market conditions, the union might be better served by meeting face-to-face with its members, instead of trying to pull a fast one.
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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
Photo: Takomabibelot
