BY TONY PRINCE
NILES, Ohio - "This is my fifth strike in 33 years at RMI,"
said pipefitter Joe Dickson walking the picket line here.
Approximately 500 members of United Steelworkers of America
Locals 2155 and 2155-7 have been on strike at RMI Titanium
since October 1. The company makes titanium products.
"We went out for four months in 1969, for five months in 1972, for six days in 1995, and now in 1998. Then we had a one- day wildcat strike in 1968 because the company tried to fire a guy for heating up a toasted cheese sandwich. We all got a three-day suspension for that, but it was worth it."
According to Dickson, the day before the strike RMI was taken over by a holding company called RTI. The strike was provoked by the refusal of RTI to sign the contract that had been negotiated between RMI and the union. One of the major sources of income for the workers has been profit sharing. Striker Tom Altobelli said that the workers got $13,000 in profit sharing in 1997 and expected a comparable amount in 1998.
With the transfer of ownership to the RTI holding company, RTI and RMI are in a position to juggle the finances in such a way as to make it appear that RMI is not making money while RTI rakes in a big profit, which it is not obliged to share with the RMI workers. Dickson gave the example of RMI having sold titanium to another RTI company for $6 per pound, which the second company then sells on the open market for $18 per pound. This makes it look like RMI is barely making a profit.
It was in order to prevent this kind of manipulation and to guarantee the continuation of profit sharing that the union demanded that RTI sign the contract.
Pensions are another issue in the strike. Dickson said that a person with 30 years seniority would be entitled to a pension of $860 per month, and Altobelli added that a retiree has to pay $150 per month for family medical insurance out of the pension payment. This pension is significantly less than that at other major unionized factories in the area.
It was clear to strikers on the picket line that the company had been preparing for a strike long before the contract deadline. They pointed to where the company had cut down trees in order to have a clear view of the picket line and the street, removed all the gravel that used to be at the entrance to the plant, and installed new fencing, video cameras, and high-powered lighting aimed at the picket lines.
The company brought in a group of uniformed thugs at the beginning of the strike to try to intimidate the workers, and from the outset these thugs tried to provoke a confrontation with the workers. This tactic backfired, as more workers mobilized at the gates than the company had expected. The imported thugs have been forced to retreat into the company buildings away from the picket lines, and the regular, pre- strike, security service is again staffing the guard shacks at the entrances to the plant. Morale on the picket lines was high. Dickson urged this reporter to "make sure to mention these young kids in this union. They're doing a hell of a job. They have no negativism at all."
His attitude was echoed at the picket line at the plant's south entrance. Sheila Seach, a welder with three years at RMI, explained, "The company thought they were going to separate the older employees and the younger employees. They thought we were all going to cave in."
Keith Lamb, a 10-year employee, added, "The new people are sticking tighter than half of the old people. The union is stronger now than it ever was." Lamb and Seach estimated that the company had hired well over 100 people in the past three years, and pointed out that the bosses tried to screen out workers with pro-union views.
Another factor that has strengthened the strike is the support from working people in the Mahoning Valley, which includes the cities of Niles, Warren, and Youngstown, Ohio. Cars passing by the picket lines honked constantly to demonstrate their support.
Three years ago steelworkers at WCI, a few miles up the road from RMI, fought a hard, militant strike that won the support of working people throughout the Mahoning Valley. The impact of the union victory at WCI is still felt in the valley.
In Dickson's opinion, "The WCI strike definitely solidified the unions in the valley."
Tom Altobelli added that "the WCI workers are the union brothers who have helped us out a lot." Keith Lamb recalled his frequent visits to the WCI picket lines in 1995 and the lively discussions he had there.
USWA Locals 2155 and 2155-7 have had two rallies of hundreds of workers so far to build support for the strike. Many of the unions which supported the WCI strike came out for these rallies: steelworkers from WCI, electrical workers from the General Motors subsidiary Packard Electric, members of the United Auto Workers, nurses from the United Nurses Association, Teamsters from Youngstown, public employees, and others.