BY SALM KOLIS
RAVENSWOOD, West Virginia - Driving into Ravenswood on
Route 2, it's immediately clear that a labor dispute is
brewing. In front of the United Steelworkers of America
(USWA) Local 5668 union hall is a big wooden sign - flanked
by fire-barrels and wood - that reads "Vote No on the
contract."
As you continue down the road, you begin noticing "Vote No" spray-painted on the pavement with increasing frequency as you approach the Century Aluminum plant, formerly Ravenswood Aluminum Corp. There are "Vote NO" signs on workers' lawns. One truck in the union parking lot had a sign in the window that read, "I survived the battle of Fort RAC," referring to the 1990-92 lockout of steelworkers by Ravenswood Aluminum. "I am ready for the battle of the Century." There's no mistaking that Steelworkers here are preparing for a fight.
At a series of union meetings in May and June, workers reviewed the status of contract negotiations and the company's final offer, which was rejected unanimously by the union negotiating committee. At the insistence of International union officials, a mail-in vote is being conducted on the proposed contract. Meanwhile, the previous contract has been extended and the union has agreed to continue working until the ballots are counted, probably by June 11.
The company's offer is a four-year contract, with a 35-cent hourly raise each year, a $1,000 signing bonus, and a 25 percent increase in the factor used to calculate pensions. The major objection by unionists to the contract is a drastic increase in the cost of medical care. The amount of out-of- pocket expenses would rise to $1,700 for an individual or $3,400 for a family.
Brad Warner, who works in the reduction facility, said, "The conditions we work under are trying. Especially in the reduction end, they are hot and stressful. We are entitled to keep what we have. The union distributed information on the salaries and benefits of Century's executives. The top man made $500,000 last year in bonuses. But it's the workers on the floor who get the job done, we're the one's they come to when they have to solve a production problem. I'm tired of getting walked on. Sometimes you just have to draw the line."
Workers are angry about a recent article that appeared in the Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail entitled, "Plant awaits contract: Ravenswood facility may close if deal is not OK'd."
"This is the company trying to pressure us to vote `yes.' They are trying to scare workers and businesses in the area with the memory of the lockout," explained Tim Schumaker. "But I'm not going to be intimidated."
The article also quotes Tim Dean, a servicing staff representative of the USWA International, saying the proposed health plan is "probably better than 95 percent of the folks we represent in West Virginia." Dean goes on to say he believes the company's statements about its financial straits. The company claims customers have canceled orders and a bank has threatened to cut off a line of credit due to the possibility of a strike.
"He sounds like a company man!" exclaimed Warner. International union officials met with the local negotiating committee June 1 and said that if the contract is rejected, talks will continue. Two buses of Steelworkers traveled to Pittsburgh June 3, and they planned to hold an informational picket at the USWA's international offices to show their opposition to the contract proposal. Instead, they met with officials at the local hotel. Unionists returned feeling confident they had made their point.
Company threats and intimidation
Coming out of a June 1 union meeting, Doug Wilson was
carrying a new union hat and T-shirt. When he saw the
Militant newspaper he said, "Militant - great, that's for
me!" Like many other workers, Wilson was outraged that the
company printed a message on workers' last pay stub
encouraging them to vote yes on the new contract. "This is a
violation of the labor laws," he said. "I went up to payroll
and demanded a new pay stub. Finally, one of the clerks
whited out the company's message and copied my pay stub and
gave me the copy without the `vote yes' message. I felt I had
to make my point."
Many other workers agreed, and dozens have filed individual grievances protesting this company intimidation.
" `Vote Nó signs are all over the plant, on the walls, on hard-hat stickers, on forklifts, even on ingots going down the line," Wilson reported. "I brought my ballot into the lunchroom so everyone could see me vote `no.' Then I made a copy and put it up on the bulletin board."
Workers pointed out that while the company tries to cut its spending on their medical coverage, there is money for improvement in the plant and new equipment. "They just bought a new metal carrier with a rotating cab for $243,000. And I know that's what they paid for it, because I took the sticker off it!" exclaimed Roy Headley. "This plant is a money-maker. It's one of the few integrated facilities in the country, and some of the equipment they have allows them to produce products that other plants can't." During the 1990-92 lockout, Headley refused to cross the picket line and take a job at the plant. "They told me then Íd never work here, but here I am and I'm ready to strike if that's what it takes.
"This is the most productive aluminum plant in the country, and they want to take back what we already have. I say no!" declared Schumaker.
Veterans of the 1990 lockout are particularly heartened to see the response of the younger workers. "At the meetings discussing the company's proposal, it was the workers in their 20s and 30s who were doing the hollering," noted one veteran of the lockout.
The Ravenswood plant used to be owned by Kaiser Aluminum Corp. Workers explain that many of the same people sit on the board of directors of both companies, so they are watching the tough stand the company is taking in the lockout at Kaiser plants in three states. That fight began as a strike last October and became a lockout in January when Kaiser refused to accept the USWA's offer to return to work under the old contract while continuing negotiations.
To prepare for the contract fight with Century Aluminum, the local organized informational picketing outside the company's offices several months ago. More than 100 unionists and their supporters picketed in the morning and afternoon for three days.
The event was well covered on local television stations and helped put the company on notice that the union was preparing for a struggle.
1990-92 battle of `Fort RAC'
In November 1990, just as their contract was set to expire,
workers at Ravenswood Aluminum Corp. (RAC) were locked-out.
Because the company fortified the plant with big fences,
barbed wire, Vance security guards, and a helicopter pad,
workers referred to it as "Fort RAC."
Their fight for a contract and to return to work took 20 months, and in the course of their struggle Steelworkers here reached out for support from workers on strike against the Daily News in New York City, metalworkers in Europe, and many others. Through these activities the ranks transformed what was officially a lockout into a strike that was effective enough to win.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars were donated to the local to keep up the fight. Members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), fresh from their victory against the Pittston Coal Co., organized bucket collections for the Ravenswood workers at mine bathhouses and in dozens of coal mining communities across southern West Virginia.
The Steelworkers returned to work under a contract that allowed the company to combine jobs; change seniority rights like taking away the right of older workers to refuse overtime; and rehire some of the scabs. Nevertheless, Steelworkers returned to work with their union stronger because of the fight waged by the members of Local 5668 and the Women's Support Group.
Their battle continued on the shop floor after they returned to work, fighting against speedup and job eliminations and for safety. Close to 100 scabs were immediately rehired by the company.
Many of the veterans of the "Battle of Fort RAC" remain active in union solidarity actions. Karen Gorrell participated in solidarity actions with workers at Metalic Specialties, Inc., who recently won their first union contract after a 23-month strike. "That victory was so special to me, because many of those workers are young. It really inspired me to see them fight so hard and win," she said.
Johnny Lynch, who has retired from the plant, but not from the struggle, explained how the local's tradition of extending solidarity has continued since they returned to work in 1992. Solidarity collections are taken up in the plant every three months. The most recent went to the Kaiser Aluminum workers at an April 24 solidarity rally in Heath, Ohio.
Other workers in the region are watching the developing struggle. UMWA member Danny Spurlock, a miner who works in southern Ohio, explained, "I have many friends that work for Century Aluminum. My union was strong for them during their lockout. We took up a bucket collection at my mine. I walked the picket line with them then and I'm ready to do it again."