The United Steelworkers committee working to negotiate a new master contract for workers at three MNA plants is calling for a walkout at midnight on July 23 should “serious, purposeful” negotiations not begin.
The BFGoodrich Negotiating Committee, representing union workers at MNA plants in Tuscaloosa and Opelika, Ala., and Ft. Wayne, Ind., told members via its Web site that “if the company doesn’t curtail their greed and get down to serious, purposeful negotiating soon, we will be striking them come 12:01 eastern time on July 23.”
The committee claimed in its communiquÉ that MNA was seeking an average cut of $7 per hour from production employees. It was not clear if that proposed cut was in wages, benefits or a combination of both.
“The small committee meeting on benefits is still trying to get the company to fully explain their intentions regarding how they plan to gouge our insurance and pensions,” the communiquÉ said. “It is crystal clear that they want to greatly reduce the cost of our benefits by shifting the burden to us.”
