Tentative Contract

Awhile back, I wrote about the potential of a strike at the place I work for. The labor contract for the hourly workers was set to expire at midnight on September 1, 2008. In fact, we were only four hours away from walking off the job (not me personally, because I got off at 7 PM). When we left work on August 31st (our scheduled shift had just ended) - we were basically resigned to the fact that a deal would not get done before the deadline approached. Officials that represent our union released a memo to all employees stating that the company was unwilling to settle to our demands, no additional negotiations were scheduled for the remainder of the day and to expect a strike. News that was so promising earlier in the day quickly went in the other direction and so did our moods. Of course we knew nothing was a done deal when we started our shift. But with the steel industry being so strong right now and the company earning record profits - how could we not share in some of that profitability? Not taking a chance that the contract could expire, management decided to shut down the plant well in advance of the contract expiring. It takes awhile to get everything down and flushed out - which is what took us to get everything down within our 12-hour shift on the 31st. It was nice to hear that it would soon be starting back up later that evening.

It's really kind of funny how things transpired that evening of the 31st. I came home after work, obviously frustrated of the news regarding the contract impasse. So I started to sit down and write a blog regarding the situation. I got two paragraphs written when I decided to take a break. I made a phone call home to my parents to let them know about what I had heard from work earlier in the day. As I'm sure some of you know, my dad also works at the same place I work. So I knew he'd be interested in knowing any news that I might have to share. I just got off the phone with my mom when I decided to check a few of the local media websites to see if they had any updates on the contract situation. No updated news yet, so I decided to check one of our sister union's website to see if there was any updates. And at the very top of the page, it read "tentative contract." I was baffled, confused, excited, and bewildered. There was a tentative contract afterall. I was particularly glad to know that I could have peace of mind knowing I had a place to go to work the next day and for the next four years to come, at least. But at that point, I had basically resigned myself to the fact that there wouldn't be a settlement and I'd be on strike the next day - especially when you consider the memo the union had released earlier in the day. So there was a tad bit of a let-down for me, as well. September 1 was Labor Day, afterall. I wouldn't have minded a few days off, I guess. But knowing we have a tentative contract in place and life can go on as normal, that was definitely a nice fact.

So I had to hurry up and call back my mom and let her know the latest news - that both me and my dad could go to work the next day afterall. This was only 15 minutes after I initially called her to say we'd probably be on strike. Obviously she was very happy, too. But it was incredible to experience the whirlwind of emotions that took place on that day. Who knew that being in a unionized work force could do that to a person. But what confused me the most out of this was the union saying to expect a strike, that the company had submitted it's last, best, and final proposal and no additional negotiations were expected the rest of the day. Obviously something changed dramatically soon after that memo was released to the employees in the union. Our new labor agreement is supposed to mirror several other agreements that have been reached between other sister steel companies and their repective unions that were settled within the last month. So taking that fact into consideration, it sounds like the new contract is an improvement over the old - which is what we're hearing. Not all of the details of the new deal have been announced and ratification of the contract may not take place until another two to three weeks. But the vote is coming. Small snippets of the deal seem to be released a little bit each and every day.

So there you have it - labor peace has been reached within our local iron range for another four years until this latest deal is set to expire. Now that could quickly change if the contract doesn't get ratified, but it's quite likely it will. That's kind of the way it goes when you work in the steel industry - always expect the unexpected. Cause you never know exactly when things are going to change. I know one thing is for certain, never take anything for granted, either.