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WEATHERSFIELD -- United Steel Workers at Howmet and the Pittsburgh-based company have a new collective bargaining agreement in place that, according to the union, secures a "fair general wage increase" and minimizes premium payments for health care over its four years.
Members of USW Local 2155 and its amalgamated Local 2155-7 will receive a pay increase of 17 percent, increased shift differential for workers on afternoon and midnight turns and for some, a quicker path to more vacation time.
"I think it's a very good contract," Terry Thirion, president of Local 2155, said. "There was give and take; it was a very good negotiation for us."
The agreement calls for pay raises of 6 percent this year, 5 percent in 2024 and 3 percent in 2025 and 2026. Shift differential for afternoon workers went from 35 cents to 50 cents and for midnight shift workers, from 50 cents to 75 cents.
Other highlights include an attendance bonus, which gives employees with perfect attendance over a quarter a day off the next quarter, and new language that lessens the number of years needed to receive additional weeks of vacation.
"It used to be 10 years to get your third week of vacation; we've moved that down to seven years. It used to take three years to get your second week; we've moved that down two years," Thirion said.
There was also a sick leave increase.
Members of Local 2155 approved the agreement 153 to 89. Local 2155-7 members approved it 17 to 1. Negotiations lasted about three months.
The agreement, according to Howmet, represents about 77 percent of the workforce at the company's Niles Operations on Warren Avenue in Weathersfield. It "underscores our commitment to preserving jobs, protecting our customers and ensuring the long-term viability of the Niles Operations," according to a company statement.
The union agreed to pay more for health care. Starting in 2024, the deductible for in-network care will go to $300 for individual and $600 for family coverage and out-of-network care will go to $500 for individual and $900 for family.
Max out-of-pocket expenses for in-network will go to $1,200 and $1,700 for individual and family and out-of-network maximums go to $2,500 and $4,500.
The agreement also brings back language that helps protect jobs at the local plant.
Local 2155 and the company agreed in February 2021 to flexibility in contract language that allowed the company to contract out work and with staffing in the melt shop during the pandemic when the aerospace industry slowed.
In exchange, Howmet agreed to invest millions in capital improvements at the facility to drive down the cost to make titanium, making the plant more competitive and cost-effective. There were layoffs attached, but the deal was a trade-off to improve the facility's long-term viability.
The wording was part of a two-year contract extension the sides settled on after the company approached the union about shutting down the local melt shop and moving the work elsewhere, including a facility in Canton.
The deal then allowed some of the work to move to Canton, but the investment, Thirion said at the time, would make the local plant competitive with the facility in Stark County.
"In this agreement, we go back to our original type language that says if they send work to Canton, it is considered contracting out and they have to give us notice, and we have to go through all of the steps to see if we can do it here or not first," Thirion said.
rselak@tribtoday.com