RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. - Alcan Rolled Products Ravenswood LLC wants to clarify information it sees as being misunderstood before the members of United Steelworkers of America Local 5668 begin voting today on the contract offer submitted by the company.
The company wanted to clarify information being circulated on an important matter that was part of the final offer proposed by the company to USA Local 5668, a company spokesman said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
The company said work reorganization is simply the formation of a joint union/management committee - with the help of a mutually selected third-party facilitator - to identify ways to help make Alcan Ravenswood best in class in the aluminum industry.
Union officials have said the work relocation committee clause could allow the company to cut jobs in the future and contract out some maintenance jobs.
The company spokesman said it would not translate into job losses.
"The output of that new committee would be to identify opportunities to better utilize the talent of the company's trade and craft employees in performing higher level tasks that demand the skills and knowledge they possess and to have more of a cooperative working relationship among the job classifications," the spokesman said.
Negotiations between the company and the union have been going on for a few weeks involving more than 700 hourly employees, with the company making its final offer over the past week. The company and union recently agreed to an extension of the current agreement until midnight Monday, June 14 to allow for the vote by the union. Work has been continuing at the plant.
The union voting begins today from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for workers on a 12-hour shift. The rest of the voting will be held Friday from 6 . to 8 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight to accommodate all the daily shifts. Voting will be done at the main gate of the plant, union officials said. The final tally is expected Saturday morning.
The plant is the largest employer in Jackson County with about 1,000 employees.
