Steelworkers Back to Work at Kaiser After Two Years

Today was the first day steelworkers returned to work after agreeing to a new contract.

The locks came off the gates at the Kaiser Aluminum Mead plant early this morning, as hundreds of workers went back on the job after a two year labor dispute. Steelworkers walked off the job on September 30, 1998 but a new contract, approved after arbitration last month, brought them back to the plant.

The return to work at Kaiser marked an emotional time, not only for the workers themselves, but for their families who came out to support them. It had been over two years since they last stepped foot inside the plant as employees.

At 5:30 a.m. in near freezing temperatures, union workers gathered at a North Spokane parking lot before their shift. They wanted to show their solidarity as a group by arriving at Kaiser together.

Dozens of family and friends greeted the steelworkers when they arrived at the gates. Former replacement workers, now unemployed, looked on from across the street. Amazingly, at least one replacement worker showed compassion for the returning steelworkers. "We're just happy they're going back. This has been a long struggle for the families. It's been hard, but they hung in there."

But the returning steelworkers were a little nervous. "We're going to be all right. We're just a little aprehensive right now about what we'll see inside and what we'll face. Workers say they've been training the last few days...and some things have changed." But inspite of the differences, they say nothing beats the feeling that their lives, and the lives of their families are finally returning to normal.

About 200 workers returned today. More workers will continue to return through Tuesday. Workers at Kaiser Trentwood plan to report back on October 23rd.