Ormet Contract Ratified, Capping A Long Strike

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/3758

Ormet Contract Ratified, Capping A Long Strike - 07/19/06

By Jesse Russell

A 19-month long strike at an Ormet smelter in Hannibal, Ohio has finally come to an end. The new contract has been ratified and the United Steelworkers have agreed to drop bankruptcy related charges against the company. The contract covers more than 800 employees and includes a signing bonus, wage increases and a new healthcare plan that requires a co-pay. Work stopped at the aluminum plant in November of 2004 and the plant has been idle since January of 2005.

Ormet | USW and PACE | Posted 07/18/2006 - 5:46pm

[cmd]

1. That is very good news

Workers in Hannibal have had a rough year and a half.

[theHandpuppet]

2. This is great news.

Thanks for the update!

[Omaha Steve]

3. Get Ormet Workers Back on Job Quickly

Full story: http://www.news-register.net/editorials/articles.asp?articleID=8516



Get Ormet Workers Back on Job Quickly

By the News-Register

The long, sometimes bitter strike at the Ormet Corp. in Hannibal is over — but that doesn’t mean the plant can resume producing aluminum. For that to happen, Ormet needs a contract for reasonably priced electricity.

Most of the hundreds of union workers who went on strike against Ormet in November 2004 will remain idle until and unless a source of electricity can be found. Aluminum production requires an enormous amount of power — and for Ormet to do the job effectively, the electricity must be available at competitive rates.

Members of United Steelworkers Local 5724 on Sunday ratified a new contract with Ormet. But only a few of them will be going back to work immediately, preparing the plant for resumption of production. Meanwhile, company officials are working to find the source of electricity needed to bring the other workers back.

Whether Ormet can accomplish that depends almost entirely on private utility companies such as American Electric Power. Reportedly, Ormet officials already have begun discussing the issue with AEP.