CONTACT: R.J. Hufnagel: 412-562-2450, rhufnagel@usw.org
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) in response to charges the United Steelworkers (USW) filed when the company laid off seven workers in June at the ATI powder metals facility in Robinson, Pa.
Management instituted the temporary layoffs in retaliation for the workers’ participation in a successful union organizing campaign at the plant, said USW District 10 Director Bobby “Mac” McAuliffe. The workers have since returned to their jobs.
“The union never stopped fighting for us,” said Ryan Wingertsahn, who works at the plant and serves on the USW’s bargaining committee. “Whenever workers are organizing to gain a voice on the job, it can be an intimidating process. But knowing that the USW always had our backs has been a huge help.”
The NLRB Region 6 office in Pittsburgh scheduled a hearing on the complaint for Jan. 11, 2017.
The complaint also accuses ATI of initiating the layoffs without prior notice to the USW and without giving the union a chance to bargain over the decision.
“It’s unfortunate when – rather than taking the rational approach and accepting the workers’ choice – a company decides instead to intimidate and retaliate against its own employees,” McAuliffe said. “All workers have the right to make their voices heard in the workplace, and none of them should be faced with threats and intimidation as a result.”
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing workers in a range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, health care, security, hotels, and municipal governments and agencies.
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