Kaiser recalls dozens, but no restart date set
Company says work at Mead not a sure sign of resumption
Tracy Ellig - Staff writer
Kaiser Aluminum Corp. has begun recalling about four dozen workers to its Mead smelter to prepare the plant for possible operation.
The Mead plant was idled in December when Kaiser decided it was more profitable to resell the electricity the plant consumed than continue to smelt aluminum. About 400 workers were laid off at the time.
Almost 1,000 employees work at Mead when the plant is in full production.
While the workers will begin prepping the plant early this week for business, "the company has not yet made a decision to do a restart," Kaiser spokeswoman Susan Ashe said Saturday.
Kaiser will be evaluating its options over the next couple of weeks, Ashe said. It began recalling workers Wednesday.
"It is good news to see our people called back," said Steve Powers, staff representative for the United Steelworkers of America in Spokane. "But we still don't have any idea if they are going to restart the potlines or not."
The idled workers had been drawing 70 percent of their pay and getting full medical benefits.
While pleased with the recall, Powers said the workers were taking a risk if they were laid off again.
"One of our concerns is that if they are off for a power-related shutdown for 16 months then they get a retirement," Powers said. "Going back to work starts the clock all over again."
The decision to restart Kaiser's Mead facility will be made in the context of the company's ongoing negotiations with the Bonneville Power Administration, which provides the aluminum producer with electricity.
The BPA wants the region's power-hungry aluminum industry to remain idled for up to two years while more power plants are added in the Northwest.
Currently, the BPA is responsible for providing more power than it can produce. To make up for the remainder, it must go on the volatile open market to purchase power.
This spring, the BPA said it might have to raise rates as much as 250 percent unless its customers substantially reduced consumption.
The federal power-marketing agency also asked operators of the region's 10 aluminum smelters to shut down and remain shut down when their five-year contracts are renewed in October.
All but Kaiser agreed.
In June, the BPA announced rate increases would be held to 46 percent for six months beginning Oct. 1.
The agency allotted about 250 megawatts to Kaiser while continuing to negotiate the terms of an extended shutdown.
"BPA wants that power," Powers said.
"There is the possibility that this is a move on the part of Kaiser to force the BPA to negotiate a little more on what Kaiser wants, but's that just speculation," Powers said.
Since the BPA announced its rate hike, wholesale power prices have plunged, putting Kaiser in a much better position to buy at a relatively low cost the electricity needed for a smelter restart.