Steelworkers at Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. in Bridgeville could go on strike because of an ongoing contract dispute with the company, a union representative said today.
The 240 members of the United Steelworkers Local 9531 have gave union leadership authorization to call a strike and have notified the company they could walk off their jobs after giving sufficient notification that would allow for an orderly shutdown, said James Watt, a USW staff representative for Local 9531. The union's bargaining committee was meeting this afternoon to discuss the status of contract talks and will meet with its members this evening, Watt said. He declined to comment on details of the negotiations.
The union has been working under an extension of its former five-year contract, which expired on Aug. 31. But the union notified the company it was cancelling the extension and gave Universal Stainless a 24-hour notice on Monday that its members might walk off the job, Watt said.
Paul McGrath, general counsel for Universal Stainless, which makes semi-finished specialty steel products, could not be reached for comment.
Steelworkers at Universal Stainless want a contract similar to that won by the USW at Latrobe Specialty Steel Co., said John Ross, a member of the bargaining committee that negotiated the contract that expired in August. Wages, pension benefits and health care costs remain outstanding issues, Ross said.
The contract at Latrobe Specialty Steel provides for pay scales ranging from $20 an hour to $26 an hour, with annual average salaries of about $56,000. The Latrobe steelworkers won their contract in July after a combination of a strike and lockout that lasted 81 days.
"We're the lowest paid steelworkers around," Ross said.
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