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HEY ATI – There You Go Again!
ATI management just can’t help themselves, unfortunately they continue to spread lies and half-truths to both the membership and the negotiating committee. They must think the employees are like “mushrooms” – to keep us in the dark and cover us up with B.S. The company’s time-line and innuendos are just false.
In their latest company update, they try to convince employees that after seven years without a wage increase, 8.5% over the next 4 years is the “deal of the century.” Then they say the USW didn’t give them a proposal for 10 days.
After ATI provided the USW with a regressive proposal on February 28th, the union followed our process by informing the membership of their substandard proposal and scheduled a Strike Authorization vote. After receiving overwhelming support, the USW encouraged ATI to come back to the bargaining table and to engage in good faith bargaining.
We told the company we were available 24/7 and when they did engage, their issues had not changed. Sure, they put some more money in the offer, but they still demand huge reductions in health care coverage and employee premiums.
But as ATI said in its previous update, “all we need to do is work a couple extra shifts of overtime to pay for the premiums”. In addition, they still want the right to contract out our work, even when people are laid off. They still refuse to fund the retiree health care VEBA so it can remain viable (remember in 2016, they committed they would do so).
They still demand the right to schedule employees for 12-hour shifts without paying overtime premiums, and they continue trying to put “wiggle-words” in their proposals in an attempt to weaken long-established rights.
ATI’s update goes on to say how much money the company is losing! You know—the company with $650 million dollars in the cash drawer that pays its executives millions of dollars a year, yet can’t “survive” without us giving up rights, paying for health care or without providing shutdown pensions to the employees who have earned them through years of dedicated service.
Nobody wants a strike, but ATI is leaving USW members little choice. Their bargaining strategy must be a desire to be “their way or the highway.”
In short, the company desperately wants USW members to give up the long term security of our jobs, our benefits and our retirements in exchange for $3K and 8.5% over four years — NO WAY!
Of course we want ATI to be profitable and viable, but does that mean we give up our security, our bargaining units, our protections and our rights to have decent work schedules, retirement security, employment security and economic security?
It's time for the top executives and managers to stop worrying about the price of their stock and figure out how to invest in the company's most valuable asset--the workers who built ATI and keep it going.
Now is the time to increase our resolve and our solidarity. Our local union leadership will begin actions at each plant to express our disagreement with ATI’s substandard offers, bad faith bargaining and lack of respect for the employees. Support your committee and help us gain leverage to reach a Fair CONTRACT!
ATI should know that without USW members, there is no ATI.
In unity,
Your USW/ATI Negotiating Committee
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