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AK Steel, union meet for 74th time
AK official says union’s proposal doesn’t narrow gap on key issues.
By Ed Richter
Staff Writer
Negotiators from AK Steel Corp. and its largest union met again for a little more than 90 minutes in their bargaining session held Wednesday morning.
It was the 74th meeting between the Middletown steelmaker and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers/Armco Employees Independent Federation Local 1943 since contract negotiations began Nov. 30, 2005.
Jim Tyler, Machinists spokesman, said both sides were negotiating and that another session is slated for 8:30 a.m. Friday.
“As long as we are negotiating, we feel like we’re moving forward,” Tyler said. “We’re just trying to reach a contract so our members can return to work.”
In a statement issued late Tuesday, Alan McCoy, AK Steel’s vice president of government and public relations, said the company was still reviewing the comprehensive contract proposal it received Aug. 10 when it met with union and Machinists representatives for the first time.
“However, the union’s proposal does not narrow the considerable gap between the parties, especially on the four corners of AK Steel’s need for a competitive agreement,” McCoy said.
He said those four corners to which the steelmaker is referring include health care cost sharing, affordable retirement accounts, no base work force guarantees and a smaller, flexible work force with fewer job classifications.
Neither McCoy nor Tyler commented on any specifics of Wednesday’s negotiation session.
About 2,700 members of the then-AEIF were locked out of AK Steel’s Middletown Works at midnight March 1. Since then, more than 500 union members have retired or sought other employment. The number of hourly workers stands at 2,134, AK Steel officials said Aug. 7.
Since the lockout began, the Middletown Works has continued to operate with about 1,800 salaried and temporary replacement workers.
AK Steel stock finished Wednesday at $12.91, up 41 cents.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or erichter@coxohio.com.
