NYT: In Superman’s Hometown, a Labor Dispute Over Health

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/us/09metropolis.html?_r=2&hp


Josh Anderson for The New York Times

Superman outside the courthouse in Metropolis, Ill.
By DAN FROSCH
Published: August 8, 2010

Union workers at the nation’s only uranium conversion plant, in Metropolis, Ill., have erected 42 crosses nearby in memory of workers who died of cancer. Twenty-seven smaller crosses symbolize workers who have survived the disease.

The memorial is a fitting backdrop for the contentious labor dispute that has shaken Metropolis — the self-proclaimed hometown of Superman, which sits on the Ohio River at the southern edge of Illinois. Many workers believe that the plant contributed to their fellow employees’ illnesses, which is a central reason the union is refusing to accept the plant operator’s plan to reduce pensions for newly hired workers and health benefits for retirees.


Josh Anderson for The New York Times

Crosses symbolize workers at the uranium conversion plant who have died from cancer.


On June 28, Honeywell, the plant operator, locked out its 220 union employees after negotiations stalled, accusing the union of refusing to give the company 24 hours’ notice of a strike. The union has picketed ever since.


Josh Anderson for The New York Times

Union workers at the plant have been picketing since being locked out in June, when negotiations over a new contract stalled. The dispute involves disagreements over pensions and health benefits.


“We deal with hydrofluoric acid,” said Darrell Lillie, president of United Steelworkers Local 7-669, which represents the union workers. “We make fluorine. This is bad stuff. The least we feel like we could have is good medical benefits when we retire.”

Honeywell rejects the notion that its facility makes workers more susceptible to cancer and maintains that its labor proposal would raise the average overall salary for employees. The company says that is fair given that the plant, which converts milled uranium into uranium hexafluoride for nuclear reactors, is projected to lose $20 million this year.

“Unfortunately, the union has demonstrated very little desire to reach a mutually beneficial and workable agreement that acknowledges the economic realities of the plant,” said Peter Dalpe, a spokesman for Honeywell.

FULL story at link.