Workers at Sloss Industries in Birmingham entered their second month on strike January 6. Some 250 members of United Steelworkers of America Local 12014 walked out in December, after rejecting a proposed new contract that would end medical insurance for future retirees, and impose other cuts. "Retirees really need that coverage," said one striker, "because everybody gets sick after working in here." The company, which produces coke used in steel production and other coal by-products, has hired a small number of scabs and is trying to keep the plant running with them and supervisory personnel. Sloss is owned by Walter Industries, which also owns the Jim Walter mines in Alabama.