Vol.64/No.19 May 15, 2000
Steelworkers in Ohio win back jobs
BY SALM KOLIS
HANNIBAL, Ohio — "There is a new generation of steelworkers coming up now, who are ready to fight," commented Matt Reusser, one of three members of United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 5724 who had been fired April 4. These unionists returned to work midnight shift on Friday, April 21. "We had a holiday dance scheduled for that evening, but it really turned into a victory dance," said Reusser.
On April 3, Dave Ivey and Pat Runion were fired for supposedly "directing the workforce." They were training a newly hired worker. This firing enraged other unionists because its impossible to train a new person without giving them directions.
In a show of unity in the fight for a contract, members of USWA locals 5724 and 5760 have been holding informational picket lines at the plant gate through the week, and march together in and out of the plant. Steelworkers at Ormet Aluminum's Hannibal Reduction and Rolling Mill Divisions have been working under an extension of their contract, which expired May 31, 1999.
"Monday afternoon," Butch Blake explained, "we marched over there with fire in our eyes. The union warned the company that [Jeffrey] Woodell was trying to provoke us, and they did nothing to rein him in. These firings were the last straw." Blake has worked for Ormet for almost 10 years and currently works in the Pot Room. "I stay in the Pot Room, because that's where all the new people start and it's important for the union to talk to them before the company gets them.
Tuesday evening the company singled out three workers they considered "ringleaders" and fired them during the afternoon shift. These three workers were Reusser, Dean Moore, and Mark Smith. Moore and Reusser are union grievance representatives. They were dismissed for "participating in a march."
That evening 300 workers, nearly the entire shift, assembled at their picket shack outside one of the entrances to the aluminum plant. "We were on the verge of walking out then and there," explained Blake. "The company called the union and begged them to come down and cool us down."
"The company tried to break the spirit of C-shift, which has always been one of the strongest shifts, with these firings," explained Reusser. "But other guys stepped forward to organize the marches in and out of the plant." The unionists came back to work under an agreement not to file any grievances for a year, and with the stipulation that this incident will remain on file for a year.
During the contract fight, Ormet has fired 14 unionists. Of these, 10 have gotten their jobs back, one has decided to take another job, and three cases are in arbitration. Reusser explained that "the workers who were fired try to be a visible part of the picket lines, so co-workers know we are still part of the struggle."
The union printed up bright "prison orange" T-shirts that say "I was fired by corporate greed" for the fired unionists to wear at labor rallies.
Ormet filed suit against the Ohio Department of Transportation alleging infringement of the company's property rights. The company is appealing a ruling in that case by Monroe County Court Judge Harris for failing to issue an injunction against the union's picket shack across from one of the entrances to the plant and the regular picket lines the unionists hold at shift change.
"Attendance on the picket line is up," reports Reusser, in the wake of all five of the unionists fired in April returning to work, and progress in contract talks." Although contract negotiations have stepped up in the last two weeks, in their latest offer the company has backtracked on issues previously agreed to.
"With all the firings, we can't forget the real issues here are getting a cost-of-living adjustment clause, and maintaining our profit sharing and gain sharing," explained Diane Riggenbach, who has over 20 years at the plant and works in the Cast House.
Salm Kolis is a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 1557 in Pittsburgh.