Nearly 100 steelworkers from Ormet and from Century Aluminum in Ravenswood, West Virginia; United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) members from a power plant in New Haven, Ohio; and other supporters came together February 3 in a strong show of solidarity with the union struggle for a contract and to rebuild the shack.

The 1,800 members of the USWA locals 5724 and 5760 at Ormet have been fighting for a contract since the last one expired in May. Unresolved demands include restoring the cost-of-living allowance, keeping the profit- and gain-sharing plans for both the reduction facility and the rolling mill, and rehiring nine workers unjustly fired by the company in the course of this fight.

Shortly after lunch, local officials reported that Ormet was seeking an injunction in state court to stop the rebuilding effort. Ormet claimed that the shack represented a danger to its employees, citing five accidents at the entrance to the reduction facility.

The injunction was granted that afternoon but it was largely reversed the following day when union attorneys challenged it. With an injunction possible everyone worked quickly to get the shack completed.

Matt Rieser, a furnace operator in the cast house and a member of the safety and grievance committees said, "This injunction is a last ditch effort. We're closer [to a settlement] than we think," he said, citing pressure from major customers like Ford Motor Company to settle, and a general rise in aluminum prices.

Describing the work force now, Rieser said, "The cast house has really stuck together. In grievance meetings I would see 12 or 15 guys standing outside the door and looking in the windows. We had our own little army. To this day we march in and out" of the plant together.

He described the marches beginning in one department and picking up others as the workers headed out, gaining numbers department by department until they had the vast majority heading for the exit. Looking ahead to the end of this fight, Rieser said, "When this is all done and over, I'll just walk into those grievance meetings and tell them, 'Just sign the papers.' They're never going to beat us again."  
 
 
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