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Paychecks Stop for Locked Out ATI Workers
09/08/2015 - The lockout at specialty steelmaker Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) is entering its fourth week, and the paychecks for roughly 2,200 members of the United Steelworkers union have stopped coming, according to reports.
WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, said union members received their final paychecks last week and are now looking for unemployment benefits to begin.
ATI locked out the union on 15 August after the union let pass a company-imposed deadline for accepting what ATI called its last, best and final offer. The two sides are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator on 11 and 12 September.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the union and ArcelorMittal and United States Steel Corporation are continuing.
In an update posted on its website, the Steelworkers said remaining issues between the union and the companies include wages and health insurance benefits.
Specifically, the union says the companies are asking for a three-year pay freeze and reductions in incentive, sick and vacation pay. They also are asking for new employee contributions to health insurance premiums and increases in out-of-pocket expenses.
"A single person who doesn't use their insurance would pay US$1,800 more per year, while families would see an increase of US$3,000 per year," the union said in a statement.
The union said it has proposed a single program of insurance benefits that it says would reduce administrative costs by millions of dollars per year. It also said it is proposing a three-year contract with lump sum increases and wage increases based on overall hot band pricing.
ATI locked out the union on 15 August after the union let pass a company-imposed deadline for accepting what ATI called its last, best and final offer. The two sides are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator on 11 and 12 September.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the union and ArcelorMittal and United States Steel Corporation are continuing.
In an update posted on its website, the Steelworkers said remaining issues between the union and the companies include wages and health insurance benefits.
Specifically, the union says the companies are asking for a three-year pay freeze and reductions in incentive, sick and vacation pay. They also are asking for new employee contributions to health insurance premiums and increases in out-of-pocket expenses.
"A single person who doesn't use their insurance would pay US$1,800 more per year, while families would see an increase of US$3,000 per year," the union said in a statement.
The union said it has proposed a single program of insurance benefits that it says would reduce administrative costs by millions of dollars per year. It also said it is proposing a three-year contract with lump sum increases and wage increases based on overall hot band pricing.
