Kaiser, Steelworkers to meet in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas

Thursday, July 20, 2000 | 9:24 a.m.

Any unresolved issues would then be decided through binding arbitration under a process that nearly 2,300 Steelworkers members approved in a vote last week.

Negotiators will meet July 24-28 in Pittsburgh before taking the weekend off and conducting another three days of talks in Las Vegas, concluding Aug. 2, Steelworkers spokesman Jon Youngdahl said Wednesday.

If the sides agree on a five-year contract, Steelworkers members would then begin a ratification vote.

If no deal is reached, a five-member arbitration panel would meet Aug. 21-25 and choose either the company's position or the union's on each outstanding issue. The panel would rule by mid-September, with Steelworkers returning to their jobs by the month's end.

In a series of meetings over recent months, the Houston-based company and the union negotiated much of the labor agreement, but 12 categories of issues remain, including wages and sick pay.

This week, managers at Kaiser's five plants have been meeting with leaders of union locals to discuss contract issues specific to each plant, Youngdahl said.

The dispute covers employees of the Mead and Trentwood plants near Spokane; a plant in Tacoma, Wash.; and plants in Gramercy, La.; and Newark, Ohio.

About 2,900 Steelworkers walked off the job over wages, benefits, outside contractors and several other issues when contract talks collapsed Sept. 30, 1998. The company hired replacement workers and locked out union members in January 1999.

Since then, hundreds of Steelworkers have either retired or found new jobs.

The sides announced the tentative arbitration agreement June 30.

Kaiser has said replacement workers would be laid off, but would be considered for any vacancies left by Steelworkers who do not return.