Steelworkers union to appeal labor board's dismissal of case

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.dailymail.com/Business/200806100180

Tuesday June 10, 2008


by George Hohmann
Daily Mail Business Editor

An executive with the United Steelworkers said the union plans to appeal a decision to dismiss its unfair labor practices complaint against Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s eastern operations.

John Knauff said the union is extremely disappointed in the decision to dismiss the union's charges against Chesapeake. Gary Muffley, regional director of the National Labor Relations Board's Cincinnati office, made the decision. Knauff is the international union representative for the 143 Chesapeake employees in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky involved in the labor dispute.

Chesapeake's contract with Steelworkers Locals 628 and 372 expired Dec. 1, 2006. The company made a final contract offer on May 4, 2007. The members of the locals rejected the offer last December.

The company declared an impasse in negotiations with the union's Negotiating Committee and, on Feb. 1, implemented the terms of its offer. That sparked the union's unfair labor practices complaint.

But Muffley informed the steelworkers in a May 30 letter that an investigation disclosed that the parties had reached a valid impasse after having met for 43 negotiating sessions between Oct. 27, 2006, and Jan. 16, 2008.

Muffley said that although the parties had reached agreement on a substantial number of issues, "the parties still remained apart on mandatory items such as wages, pensions, disability plans, holidays, vacations, job restructuring, workers compensation, funeral leave and retiree medical and life insurance supplements."

FULL 2 page story at link.