PITTSBURGH, May 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The United
Steelworkers (USW) today said that some 200 locked-out USW Local
9700 members from the ABI aluminum smelter in Bécancour,
Quebec, drove more than 12 hours
to demonstrate at Alcoa's (NYSE: AA) shareholders' meeting today. A
delegation of union representatives equipped with shareholders'
proxies also attended the meeting to address Alcoa's role in the
16-month lockout of 1,030 workers at the ABI smelter.
USW International President Leo W.
Gerard pointed out that the lockout has brought no benefits
to Alcoa over the last 16 months.
"The company's shares have lost half their value. Income losses
have been significant, and Alcoa management should be held
accountable for choosing the path of confrontation and conflict,"
Gerard said. "The company must end this lockout at once and
negotiate in good faith with its workers for a fair contract."
USW Local 9700 President Clément Masse urged Alcoa shareholders
to issue a mandate to executives and demand that they resolve the
lockout at the bargaining table.
"Aluminum smelters that are currently performing well in the
market are those that have the ability to add value to raw aluminum
production, which is precisely what ABI does," Masse said. "Our
smelter is a versatile, leading-edge casting facility with skilled
workers who can produce complex alloys and a wide variety of high
value-added products."
"This is a costly lockout that is depriving Alcoa of one of its
largest production capacities at a plant with the lowest labor
costs in North America," Masse
said. "Yet Alcoa is leaving this multi-billion-dollar asset
dormant."
"We know there are ways to improve certain aspects of the
plant's operation, but these improvements must be pursued in
co-operation with the workers, not by trying to shove unilateral
changes down workers' throats," Masse said. "Workers are eager to
get back to manufacturing quality aluminum, but that process must
include a negotiated labor agreement and mutual respect."
Assistant to the USW District 5 Director Dominic Lemieux pointed out that ABI, a joint
venture between Alcoa, which owns 75 percent, and Rio Tinto, which
holds the remaining 25 percent, locked out workers in January 2018, even though the union had agreed to
pursue pension plan changes to address issues raised by the company
and its shareholders.
"Once this important change was accepted, Alcoa and Rio Tinto
still opted to implement a lockout rather than pursue a negotiated
settlement," Lemieux said. "Since then, the company has only made
things worse by introducing new demands for concessions while
rejecting further negotiations or arbitration."
"We are here today because we believe shareholders must demand
action from management to restore these workers to their jobs,
beginning with a return to good faith negotiations," Lemieux said.
"It costs nothing to show respect for workers, but 16 months later,
shareholders are paying dearly for the company's mismanagement at
ABI."
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in
manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals,
glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with
a growing number of workers in public sector and service
occupations.
More information,
contact:
Clairandrée Cauchy (Montreal) –
514-774-4001; ccauchy@metallos.ca
Tony Montana (Pittsburgh) – 412-562-2592;
tmontana@usw.org
Bob Gallagher (Toronto) – 416-544-5966; bgallagher@usw.ca
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SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)