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BY ANDREA HOLECEK holecek@nwitimes.com 219.933.3316 | Sunday, November 07, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
EAST CHICAGO | Despite its pending change in ownership, Ispat Inland Inc. steelworkers will have a new labor agreement that will follow the pattern set by its domestic competitors.
The pending merger of the mill's parent, Ispat International N.V., with LNM Holding N.V. into Mittal Steel and its subsequent purchase of International Steel Group Inc., has put an unexpected wrinkle into the months of negotiations on the labor agreement which expired July 31.
Although there's already an agreement between the United Steelworkers of America's international union and representatives of the new company that they will follow the pattern for a set by ISG and U.S. Steel Corp. in 2003, Local 1010 and the union's negotiating committee will be dealing with a different company and possibly new negotiators for the company.
"We don't know who yet," said Tom Hargrove, president of Local 1010. "We're waiting to see."
The merged company's U.S. operations will be under the ISG umbrella, headed by CEO Rodney Mott. Following ISG's labor agreement means secure retirement and health care benefits, but it also means reducing the number of job classifications to five from about 35, Hargrove said.
"It's not unexpected," he said. "We're were going that way anyway. It's the pattern. We have the basis and we'll just have to negotiate items we need to change or add to the ISG agreement like Beth (former Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s local) did. The wages are established. ... They'll be higher for most people. Overall, they'll get a raise. It serves to shore up our pension plan and the $400 (per month) kicker for members retiring before age 62."
Although ISG's labor agreement calls for 12-hour shifts, each department work force will have an opportunity to vote on the issue and the longer shifts will be implemented only if 60 percent of a department and Hargrove agree to the change, he said.
Ispat Inland's production and maintenance workers and steelworkers at the company Minorca mines will work under the current ISG contract slated to expire Sept. 1, 2008. The union will negotiate the modifications to that contract, Hargrove said.
Production and maintenance workers at I/N Kote and I/N Tec in New Carlisle and the East Chicago mill's office and technical work force will continue under their current contract, which will be extended until Sept. 1, 2008. Those work forces have pay scales and other issues which are different than the one in ISG's contract.
"They have a unique agreement that's not typical of production and maintenance," Hargrove said. "We have a letter an agreement that their agreement will be maintained."
The union isn't concerned that the new company will call for the same type of massive job cuts which occurred at the other ISG locations because it already is operating "lean," he said.
"Cutting was never part of the conversation," said Hargrove, who met with Mott and other ISG officials before the Mittal Steel consolidation was announced last week.
If fact, Hargrove said the company probably will have to hire more workers. Currently more than 35 percent of the union's 4,500-member work force have the age and years of service to be retirement eligible, he said.
With the pensions and additional $400-a-month retirement benefit now secure, Hargrove said he expects hundreds of members will retire in January when would receive their full five weeks of vacation for the year.
"We went 20 years without hiring so many people have reached retirement age," he said. "I expect a lot will decide to retire."
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