Talks seek safety net for smelter workers in Longview
Gov. Gary Locke will meet with Longview area officials fearful of adverse effects from the power crisis
Friday, February 2, 2001
By Erin Middlewood, Correspondent, The Oregonian
LONGVIEW, Wash. -- As the possibility of a shutdown and layoffs looms at a Longview aluminum smelter, local officials plan to meet with Gov. Gary Locke next week to ask for help protecting manufacturing jobs during the power crisis.
Legislators from the 18th and 19th districts, a county commissioner and union representatives will meet with the governor Wednesday. They'll urge him to find a solution to the power shortage and to help workers who may lose their jobs because of it.
Chicago-based Michigan Avenue Partners, which struck a deal with Alcoa in December to buy a smelter in Longview, is negotiating with the Bonneville Power Administration for a possible cutback of operations at the plant and to sell back power. The smelter uses 420 megawatts when it's running at capacity.
A spokesman for Michigan Avenue Partners said earlier this week such a curtailment could mean temporary layoffs among the plant's 925 workers, but the company hopes to continue to pay their salaries and provide job retraining.
"What happens to workers if the company doesn't start up again?" asked Ray Peirson, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 305, which represents most of the Longview smelter's workers. "We're all seriously concerned about what's going to happen five, 10, 15 years down the road."
Taxpayers have footed the bill for the dams that provide cheap power, he said, and it's unfair for companies with contracts to buy that power to sell it off to make money.
"We are subsidizing them so they will be in business and employ people," Peirson said.
Ted Sprague, director of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council, said he fears the power crisis may spur other manufacturers to lay off workers. Manufacturing jobs account for almost 25 percent of employment in Cowlitz County.
"I want the governor to see the faces of these people who are going to be having trouble with their mortgages," said Rep. John Pennington, R-Carrolls. "Had energy prices been stable this wouldn't be a problem."
Because demand has exceeded the amount of power generated by the BPA's hydropower dams and nuclear plant, the federal agency has had to buy expensive power on the open market. To reduce the amount it has to buy, the BPA has tried to get big energy users to reduce their consumption.
Michigan Avenue Partners has not yet reached an agreement with the BPA or the Longview smelter's unions. The company expects to finalize its deal to buy the plant in a week or so. Alcoa acquired the Longview plant in May as part of a $5.75 million merger with Reynolds.