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Workers' opinions vary on steel pact
"I'll vote for it," said Ronald Ashton, an employee at U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, as he emerged from an informational meeting held by union officials this week at a fire hall at Large in Jefferson Hills.
Ashton is among some 19,000 USW-represented employees at facilities at both U.S. Steel and National Steel Corp. Approval of the contract is one of the steps needed for U.S. Steel to complete its proposed $1.05 billion acquisition of the assets of National Steel, which is in bankruptcy.
The USW recently mailed out ballots and information about the contract to members, and is planning to count the votes on the pact on May 19 at the union's headquarters in Pittsburgh.
A copy of a contract summary obtained by the Tribune-Review shows the proposed five-year pact follows a pattern established early this year in the USW's agreement with International Steel Group, which purchased the assets of Cleveland-based LTV. Corp. and Acme Steel.
That includes industry-leading wages, ranging from $15 to $20.50 per hour in the first year, with increases ranging from $1.39 to $1.90 per hour provided over the remaining term of the contract, bringing the wage range to $16.39 to $22.40 per hour.
In addition, it provides significant changes in labor-to-management staffing ratios, a substantial reduction in job classifications and labor grades, protection for pensions, and a package of early retirement incentives, including a lump sum payment of either $40,000 or $10,000, with eligibility based on age and years of service.
"Overall, it's not a bad deal," said Ashton, who said he likes the idea of the early-retirement incentive even though he would not personally affected.
"It will give some of the other guys the chance to get that buyout," said Ashton, explaining he would not be eligible for the incentive because he only joined U.S. Steel about eight years ago. The 64-year-old Elizabeth resident does collect a pension stemming from 32 years of service at the former East Pittsburgh plant of the now-defunct Westinghouse Electric Corp.
Still undecided was George Andrisko, a South Park resident who works as a laborer at the coke ovens at Clairton.
"I'm not sure yet," said Andrisko, a 28-year employee at U.S. Steel, who attended the meeting to find out more about a separation benefits package that is designed to help the company boost productivity by encouraging voluntary early retirement.
While U.S. Steel and National operate with hundreds of job descriptions and more than 30 labor grades, the new pact would cut the number of job descriptions to six and the labor grades to five. But there will be no pay decreases for any workers, and those who move from one job to another would have the opportunity to achieve a greater-than-normal increase in wages.
"They are going to protect my current rate, and I could move into a higher wage scale," Andrisko said.
As reported, U.S. Steel hopes to trim about 20 percent of the overall work force at the two companies' facilities through voluntary early-retirement incentives, in order to achieve a corresponding increase in productivity. And the USW has said the company also has agreed to heavily cut management jobs.
As in the ISG agreement, the contract reduces the ratios to one manager for every four employees in an industry that typically has had a one-to-two management-to-labor ratio.
One group that remains disappointed in the pact is the Service Organization of Active Retirees, or Soar, an organization affiliated with the United Steelworkers.
"I think it stinks," said Tom Taylor, president of Soar Chapter 1510, which represents about 800 retirees from the defunct National (McKeesport) and Duquesne plants of U.S. Steel.
Although the agreement preserves the company's pension plan for former retirees, Taylor and Richard Grace, another member of the Soar chapter, said the contract once again will not include any cost-of-living adjustments to help cover sharply rising costs.
Surviving spouses of retirees, whose pensions are not that high, have been particularly hard hit in that regard, according to Grace. He said spouses would be hurt under the new plan, even though it would place a cap on the amount they would have to pay for major medical coverage.
The problem is the cost of prescription drugs, he said, explaining that the new contract will increase the co-pay requirements -- for example, from $3.50 for generic and $10 for name-brand drugs to $20 and $40, respectively (for a 90-day supply by mail order.)
"This can be devastating to some of these retirees," Grace said.
New steel contract
Summary of the United Steelworkers' tentative five-year contract with U.S. Steel Corp. and National Steel, which will become effective after member ratification and finalization of U.S. Steel's purchase of assets of National Steel. It will cover about 19,000 employees -- 13,000 at U.S. Steel and 6,000 at National Steel.
Major provisions
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