Arbitrator Orders AK to Keep Ashland Plant Operating
07/16/2009 - An independent arbitrator orders AK Steel to abandon plans to shut down its Ashland, Ky., plant and look instead at cutting production elsewhere.
An independent arbitrator has ordered AK Steel to abandon plans to shut down its Ashland, Ky., plant and lay off about 750 workers and look instead at cutting production elsewhere. The ruling is based on a provision in the USW's contract that prevent its members being laid off while other plants are operating.
"We promised job and earnings security in Ashland and delivered," said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. "We promised to fight for fairness and dignity for our members and we're true to our word." He added a warning to employers that the USW will continue to enforce its contractual protections, no matter what market conditions are or how difficult economic times become.
"Over the years, we have learned how to protect our members as the market cycles from up to down, from high to low," said USW International Vice-President Tom Conway, who chairs the union's negotiations with AK Steel in Ashland.
In his final award and decision, Arbitrator Raymond F. Sekula explained that "the failure of the company to temper its 'full capacity' commitment to the Ashland bargaining unit except in cases in which there is no demand at all for Ashland products acts as a restriction on the company in that if there is customer demand for products which can be produced at Ashland, that work must contractually be assigned to it."
The USW represents about 1.2 million active and retired members in the United States and Canada in a wide variety of industries, ranging from steel, tire and rubber and other manufacturing environments as well as the public sector, service and health care industries.
