Contact: Tony Montana – 412-562-2592
PITTSBURGH – The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that Region 8 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued an Amended Consolidated Complaint (Complaint) against Rotek, Inc. (Rotek), alleging that the company’s numerous unfair labor practices have caused and prolonged a labor dispute with Local 8565 at the company’s Aurora, Ohio bearings plant.
In the Complaint issued on Dec. 31, 2013, NLRB Region 8 Director Frederick Calatrello alleges that Rotek, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp, violated federal labor laws by failing to bargain in good faith by refusing to provide information relevant to bargaining and by unilaterally implementing its final contract offer without bargaining to a good faith impasse.
The Complaint also alleges that Rotek illegally engaged in surveillance of employees engaged in activity protected by federal labor law. The Complaint further alleges that Rotek illegally fired an employee for engaging in activity protected by federal labor law and did so to discourage other employees from engaging in such activities.
USW District 1 Director David McCall called on Rotek to end the labor dispute immediately, recall its union workforce and return to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith with the USW for a fair contract in Aurora.
“Steelworkers at Local 8565 have struggled for nearly a year on the picket line as a result of Rotek’s illegal behavior,” McCall said. “Their solidarity has never wavered, and this decision from the NLRB should bring us closer to a fair and just resolution.”
The NLRB has set a hearing on its Complaint against Rotek before an administrative law judge in Cleveland on March 10, 2014.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in 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.
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