NLRB to try to hammer out deal between Kaiser, union Company denies it engaged in unfair labor practices

Hannelore Sudermann - Staff writer


Spokane _ National Labor Relations Board officials will meet with both sides in the Kaiser Aluminum labor dispute next week in the wake of the board's decision to support two of 24 unfair labor charges against the company.

NLRB regional officials will meet Tuesday with Kaiser representatives and Thursday with the United Steelworkers of America in an attempt to reach a settlement.

About 2,000 Spokane Steelworkers have been locked out of their jobs at Kaiser's Mead and Trentwood plants since Jan. 14, 1999. Prior to that, the union members had been on strike since Sept. 30, 1998, over an unresolvedlabor contract.

The two allegations of unfair labor practice related to the company declaring an impasse and deciding to lock out the Steelworkers. The complaints stated:

• That the company insisted on an impasse after the union refused to negotiate a change in the scope of the master bargaining contract to address major issues at the individual plant level.

• That the company's contract offer wasn't specific about what wages would be for up to 55 percent of the Steelworkers.

"We never wanted to change the scope of the master bargaining contract," Jeremy Sherman, attorney and negotiator for Kaiser, said Friday. "What the company wanted to do was achieve a labor contract that was responsive to the differing needs of each of our five plants."

Sherman also said the Kaiser offer provided for a wage system that had been used by the parties for approximately 40 years.

Barring a settlement, the director of the NLRB office will issue a complaint and the case charging Kaiser with unfair labor practice will go to trial before an administrative law judge. It is unclear when the NLRB would issue the complaint.

Just a few days ago Kaiser Steelworkers sat slumped in makeshift shacks outside the company's gates, depressed by news that talks between Kaiser and the union in the 19-month labor dispute had once again broken down.

But on Friday morning at the Eagles Hall in north Spokane, more than a thousand of the locked-out Steelworkers in Spokane jumped to their feet to offer a standing ovation celebrating the fact that the NLRB supported two of their unfair labor practice appeals.

David Foster, the Steelworkers' chief negotiator, told the crowd that the success of these charges could make the company ultimately liable for $270 million in back pay.

Kaiser officials have said they believe the NLRB's decision will have no financial impact on the company and that they are confident the charges are groundless and will be dismissed.

"The Steelworkers have the cart before the horse," Sherman said. "The first thing they have to do is prove the existence of unfair labor practice. That is what a trial is all about."

Both sides agree that the NLRB general counsel's decision to sustain two of the union's charges is only one step in what could be a lengthy process of trials and appeals.

"If, in fact, a complaint issues, we will vigorously defend and prove to the administrative law judge that there is no merit," said Sherman.

This week, after the NLRB issued a letter notifying the parties of the general counsel's decision, Kaiser and the union agreed to schedule new contract talks May 10-12 in Houston.