Molycorp and United Steelworkers Agree on New Labor Contract
10/18/2011 - Molycorp, Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) have announced agreement on a new three-year labor contract at Molycorp's flagship rare earth manufacturing facility at Mountain Pass, Calif.
Molycorp, Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) have announced agreement on a new three-year labor contract at Molycorp's flagship rare earth manufacturing facility at Mountain Pass, Calif.
The company noted that the new agreement, which was achieved approximately six months early, will help to ensure a smooth start-up of Phase 1 of Molycorp's "Project Phoenix" modernization and expansion at Mountain Pass.
“I am very pleased to see Molycorp and the Steelworkers agree on a new labor contract so far ahead of schedule,” said Mark A. Smith, President and CEO of Molycorp. “The partnership we have enjoyed for many years with the Steelworkers has been a very productive one, and we look forward to continuing to work together as we ramp up America's production of strategic rare earth products and seek to leverage the creation of new manufacturing jobs in the U.S.”
“The United Steelworkers take pride in partnering with Molycorp to provide the U.S. and the rest of the world with a reliable supply of rare earth materials,” said Robert LaVenture, United Steelworkers District Director. “The Molycorp Mountain Pass facility has a long history of cooperation with our union and is providing good-paying jobs to help the local economy. We look forward to contributing our best efforts to keep Mountain Pass world-class in rare earth production.”
With offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, Molycorp, Inc. is the only rare earth oxide (REO) producer in the Western Hemisphere and the largest REO producer outside of China. In addition to its current production of rare earth oxides at its flagship rare earth mine and processing facility at Mountain Pass, Calif., the company produces rare earth metals, rare earth alloys (such as neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt alloys) and rare metals such as niobium and tantalum.
The United Steelworkers (USW) represents 850,000 members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It is the largest private sector union in North America, representing workers in a wide range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, plus office, technical and service workers in health care, security, hotels and municipal governments.
