Kaiser to open its doors at Trentwood
Steelworkers to return to jobs after two-year labor dispute 

Spokane _ Next week is momentous for Kaiser Aluminum and for Spokane.

On Monday, the remaining Spokane Steelworkers who were locked out of their jobs finally return to work.

On Wednesday, the company will release its quarterly earnings, giving a final report on income and expenses from the company's operations for two years without the Steelworkers.

For the first time since Sept. 30, 1998, hourly union workers will go into the Trentwood Rolling Mill in the Spokane Valley.

Two weeks ago workers at Kaiser Mead in North Spokane went back to their jobs. So did Steelworker employees in Tacoma and Newark, Ohio. On Monday -- along with the Trentwood Steelworkers -- a number of the Gramercy, La., plant Steelworkers also go back to their jobs.

Last week, the company and the union met to iron out final details of the Trentwood workers' return.

The first Trentwood shift starts at 7 a.m. Monday. While about 200 will go in then, a total of 620 workers are expected back at the plant during the week. The temporary workers who have kept the mill running while the Steelworkers were out will leave a few hours before the first shift returns.

"We're prepared for a smooth transition at the plant, such as was our experience with Mead's transition," said Kaiser spokeswoman Susan Ashe.

It's a welcome return for Randy Walker, a five-year Trentwood veteran who with his wife, Michelle, had to file for bankruptcy in the first year of the labor dispute.

He later found temporary work, and the couple stayed in Spokane in the hope that Randy would get his Kaiser job back.

Full of hugs and tears, Michelle Walker stood with her friends at the Mead plant gates two weeks ago as the Steelworkers returned. She had just learned the night before that her husband would be going back. It was a welcome relief, she said. At one point, because of his limited seniority, it looked like Randy was 50 people away from having a job.

Michelle Walker will join a number of other Steelworker spouses and supporters at the Trentwood gate early Monday to cheer as her husband drives through.

About 78 percent of the eligible Steelworkers were available to return. The company had room for 60 percent, Ashe said. "That's because of the changes at Trentwood in its business focus," she said. The company closed its can stock line last year.

A large number of Steelworkers are not returning because they retired or found other jobs.

The Steelworkers are excited to have their jobs back, but many are wary about adapting to new work rules and old managers.

"They worked their hearts out to keep us out," said Wes Beck, Trentwood local president. "Now they want to be friends and that's tough."

Still, Beck expects things at Trentwood to run smoothly Monday. He says he and others will be on hand to ensure that both the workers and the managers understand the rules in the new contract.