Borax miners, Rio Tinto reach tentative agreement, may end a five-month labor dispute

[Omaha Steve]

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/15/local/la-me-boron-mine-20100515

The proposed deal may end a five-month labor dispute at the mine on which the Kern County town of Boron depends.
May 15, 2010|By Sam Quinones, Los Angeles Times

Early-morning negotiations Friday may have ended a months-long dispute between 570 borax miners and a multinational company that owns the strip mine on which the Kern County town of Boron depends.

The two sides tentatively agreed around 1 a.m. Friday to a 2.5% wage increase in each year of the proposed six-year pact, said representatives of Rio Tinto Minerals and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents the workers.

The two sides also agreed to new rules regarding promotions, overtime and contracting work to nonunion companies.

"We're very encouraged," said Susan Keefe, a spokeswoman for Rio Tinto Minerals. "We're looking forward to getting our workforce back to the operation."

The dispute fractured the town of 2,000 on the western edge of the Mojave Desert, where borax, a mineral used in detergents, cosmetics and fiberglass, was discovered in 1925.

FULL story at link.