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15 January, 2007
The United Steelworkers (USW) in the US is recommending that copper miners and smelter workers of Asarco LLC in the states of Arizona and Texas approve a new 42-month labour agreement. The union successfully negotiated an amicable tentative settlement with the subsidiary of Grupo Mexico late in December, and voting by some 1,600 miners at three mines and two smelters is now underway.
The accord must also be approved by a US Bankruptcy Court.
USW District 12 Director Terry Bonds said the tentative agreement contains substantial economic gains, as well as achieving job security protections that have never before been seen in the US mining industry. “This agreement is a tremendous breakthrough for workers in the mining industry,” said Bonds.
Perhaps the highlight of the new agreement is that it is a single contract covering all five locations. “In 2004, we had seven different contracts with varying contract language, two different expiration dates, and differing pension plans,” said Bonds, adding that workers took action in a bitter 136-day strike. That strike began in July 2005 when Grupo Mexico demanded massive wage and benefit concessions, despite copper prices being at record highs.
To settle the strike, workers agreed to a one-year contract extension. “This recently concluded tentative agreement is the fruit of this extraordinary struggle,” Bonds said. “I could not be more proud of our members and local union leaders. This was a long struggle and its outcome was never guaranteed. Our members proved that working people don’t have to simply accept inequality or economic injustice.”
The USW’s Southwest regional director in the US also had high praise for Asarco CEO Joe Lapinsky. He said the company’s labour relations behaviour began to change when Grupo Mexico management was moved aside and an independent board of directors and Lapinsky were named to head the US subsidiary.
“(Lapinsky) has chosen a path of cooperation with our union, rather than confrontation, and we look forward to working with him to address the many challenges still facing the company,” stated Bonds.
Once ratified, the new contract will contain US$1-per-hour wage increases for all miners and smelter workers, backdated to 1 January 2007. Another US$1 increase will come on 30 September 2008, with another US$1 hike coming a year later. Workers will receive a US$3,000 ratification bonus with approval of the contract.
Quarterly bonuses will be awarded if the price of copper averages above US$1.60-per-pound. A 20% increase in the pension formula over the life of the three-and-a-half-year pact was also negotiated.
But perhaps more significantly, USW won strong successorship protections in the event of a sale of any Asarco asset; reinvestment guarantees on the part of the company; restrictions on Asarco’s ability to outsource work; substantial USW influence in any Plan of Reorganisation; and a company requirement that it will remain neutral in union organising efforts, with union recognition granted on the basis of a card-check.