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Call for Strike Authorization Meetings
Our Basic Labor Agreement expires today, on February 28th. The USW has offered to work under the terms and conditions of the current contract and members should continue to report to work as scheduled until further notice. We plan to return to bargaining, with the hope that ATI will finally see that its confrontational bargaining strategy won’t work. Because we’ve seen how they’ve acted so far, your USW bargaining committee is asking its members at all ATI Local Unions to authorize the bargaining committee to begin a strike, if necessary.
If Strike Authorization is granted and before a strike commences, the bargaining committee will provide an update of the bargaining status and will provide information on our rights, protections and Strike and Defense Fund benefits. Over the next several days your local union representatives will post notices of the dates, times and location of the Strike Authorization meetings.
After having taken care of themselves, ATI executives making millions of dollars a year, are demanding a four-year labor agreement that erodes most everything that we have gained over the years including wages, health insurance, contracting out protections, overtime pay and scheduling. We are not asking you today to vote on the Company’s proposal. You have told us and your bargaining committee agrees - only bring back a contract that we feel is worthy of consideration. ATI’s proposal is very far from that at the moment. And that’s why we are asking you for strike authorization. As a matter of fact, if we were to accept what they have on the table today, besides weakening almost every security issue we have, their proposal would have us working for less than we work for today!
Here are some facts to consider in deciding to authorize a strike:
ATI Can Afford a Fair Agreement
ATI has more than $650 million dollars in cash and ATI, the steel analysts and Wall Street all agree that over the next few years the company will do even better than it has in the past.
You know the history. While you’ve gone more than seven years without a wage increase, the company continues to pay management with increased salaries and bonus payments. Based on their demands and lack of recognition of the bargaining unit employees, we wonder if they really have the long-term interests of the company at heart.
The Company is Using Smoke & Mirrors
With half-truths the company is spinning what is happening at negotiations. Here are the major issues they continue to insist upon and demand the union accept:
ATI Demand for lesser health care with monthly Premiums
The Company’s proposal would also force new hires after January 1, 2024 into the salaried non-represented healthcare plan and we would have no right to negotiate over changes to the plan.
We Must Defend Ourselves from ATI’s Unnecessary Demands!
This strike authorization vote is important to demonstrate our resolve and solidarity with each other and to hopefully move the company in the right direction. We are prepared to negotiate a responsible settlement, but we are not buying into or playing their silly games. They should not make the mistake of underestimating our resolve and our sense of fairness.
In unity,
Your USW/ATI Negotiating Committee
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