VANDERGRIFT, Pa. — “They gave us something, but not enough,” said Lonny Heilman, a crane operator at the Allegheny Technologies Inc. plant in nearby Brackenridge. He was one of over 50 United Steelworkers members who joined the rally in front of the plant here April 10 to press their demands. As well as wages and a signing bonus, Heilman said lack of “family time” is a key issue. He said he’s currently working six to seven days, with a scheduled double Saturday into Sunday.
Workers joined the rally during the shift change. It drew workers from the Vandergrift, Brackenridge, and Latrobe plants, north and east of Pittsburgh. They had rejected a tentative agreement in early March.
“It’s important to have a show of solidarity,” Keith Beavers, unit chair of USW Local 1138 at Vandergrift, told the Militant. “All we are asking for is a fair contract.”
Beavers also told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “We just want to get back a little bit of what we lost over the years.” He said the union wants to get wages up to the industry standard.
“I just want to be on the same pay scale as U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs,” Chad Claypool, a crane operator at the Brackenridge plant, told the paper. “They’re drawing from the same labor pool and offering $5 to $6 an hour less.”
The paper reported that between a company lockout in 2015 and 2016 and a hard-fought strike in 2021, ATI workers lost their pension and profit-sharing benefits, all while getting only modest raises. ATI made $368 million last year, raking in a profit of $137 million in the fourth quarter alone.
Beavers said that there are only seven plants under the master contract today. In the 18 years since he hired on, bosses have closed eight or nine plants. Heilman said when he “hired on, there were almost 3,000 workers at the Brackenridge plant, now it’s less than 300.”
A simultaneous action took place at the Washington, Pennsylvania, plant, organized by USW Local 7139-05 there. Retirees, veterans with decades in the plant and some with only months took part. Unit chair Jeremy Bloom told the Militant, “Wages are an issue, but what workers are looking for more than anything is respect and quality of life.”
Kathie Fitzgerald contributed to this article.