Workers at ATI have not had a raise in seven years.
About 170 workers work at the mill that employed nearly 300 in 2015. The strike, which began March 30, is taking place at five Pennsylvania facilities-Brackenridge, Latrobe, Natrona Heights, Vandergrift and Washington-and at Lockport, New York Louisville, Ohio New Bedford, Massachusetts and Waterbury, Connecticut.Ī group of workers picketing outside the ATI mill in Vandergrift, PA spoke with the World Socialist Web Site. The USW has played down this danger, telling workers that the company won’t be able to restore production and, if they do, customers won’t buy the steel. The USW did not issue any basic demands for its members, but rather limited itself to the claim that ATI refused to bargain in “good faith.” This allows the USW to call off the strike at any time by claiming that the company is now negotiating “in good faith.”ĪTI has begun hiring scabs and has stated that they plan to restart production using them and management. The strike has been called an “Unfair Labor Practices” (ULP) strike. However, it is very doubtful that a company which is seeking to replace its workers with scabs will pay for their health care.įor its part, the United Steelworkers has been working to isolate the strike and is prepared to send the workers back without winning any basic demand.
United Steelworkers officials are telling workers that the benefits will be paid by ATI through COBRA under the CARES Act.
On Saturday, ATI will eliminate health care benefits for the striking workers. The bargaining committee comprised of USW officials from all the locals involved in the strike has rejected the company ultimatum, knowing that these threats have only angered the rank-and-file steelworkers and made them more determined to fight. Keeping to their word, on Tuesday ATI announced that they are cutting the lump sum payment in lieu of a raise during the first year of the contract from $4,000 to $2,500. Monday or they would begin reducing the offer for what ATI called the cost of the strike. On Friday, ATI issued an ultimatum to the striking workers: accept their current four-year offer by 5 p.m. The 1,300 steelworkers in Pennsylvania and four other states have been on strike for a month against Allegheny Technologies. Like our sign says ‘the concession stand is closed!’” “They are trying to bully us,” is how one striking worker described Allegheny Technologies ultimatum that the workers end their strike, accept their offer and return to work.
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