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Union, company mired in cement workers’ strike
By Matthew French
Staff Writer
Union workers striking at the Giant Cement Co. in Harleyville say they will continue to picket the company until they get a fair contract, according to United Steel Workers Local 216 president David Stepp.
One hundred thirty-seven union workers went on strike the night of Aug. 19, citing a large gap between its demands and managements’ proposals.
The United Steel Workers union has been working without a contract for about two and a half years, but the company and union have been negotiating in good faith since that time.
Both sides met with a federal mediator on Aug. 19, but the union determined that the impasse had become unmanageable. The meeting was the first such negotiation between the company and the union in six months.
A meeting on Aug. 25 produced similar results.
“We were very disappointed by the minor movement the company made, while asking us in turn to accept more new contract language,” Stepp said.
During the Aug. 25 meeting, with both federal and state mediators present, Giant Cement executives offered to reinstate the “30 and out” retirement option in its pension program. In return for this benefit, Giant asked for more flexibility in the use of their supervisors in the operation.
According to a statement released by the company, several offers have been tendered to the union, but none were accepted. The company claims the union has made no counter-proposals and has stuck to its demands.
The union has said key issues revolve around health insurance and pensions. The union said the company wants employees to contribute to health insurance premiums for the first time and the union wants a change in how pensions are distributed for new employees.
Giant Cement claims it would be unable to compete in a global market if it were to acquiesce to the union’s demands.
One of the major sticking points is the payment of health premiums. The union has thus far not had to pay anything toward their health care coverage, something the company feels should change with the rising cost of health care.
“We have asked the union to contribute 10 percent of their health insurance costs, which, depending on whether you’re talking about a single individual or a family, ranges from $40 to $100 per month. We have asked them to help share the risk of ever-increasing medical expenses,” said John Von Tress, Giant Cement’s vice president of operations.
“The average wage for the union worker on strike is $66,000 per year without benefits. There are some members who make more than $100,000, that’s for an hourly waged employee. What I’m getting at is that we’re definitely one of the better paying employers in the area, and we’re not asking for anything unreasonable.”
Von Tress said the company is prepared to continue operations indefinitely, regardless of how long this stoppage lasts.
“We’re operating right now with managers and supervisors and keeping the plant going around the clock,” Von Tress said. “We have about 50 to 60 people handling the workload right now.”
Neither Von Tress nor Stepp are willing to speculate how long the work stoppage will last, but both claim to have the resolve and resources to ride it out indefinitely.
“We do have remedies available to us through the National Labor Relations Act, and we’ll explore those as they become necessary,” Von Tress said.
Giant Cement has the option of using contractors or temporary hourly employees. If necessary, the company could permanently replace the striking workers, something Von Tress calls a last resort option.
“We’re definitely going to explore all of the remedies available to us,” he said.
The mediators, who were called in by the international union, ended the meeting without scheduling further sessions.
Matthew French is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@charlestonbusiness.com.
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