Lockout, then strike at Northeast Solite

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19447530&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74958&rfi=6

By William J. Kemble, Correspondent
04/02/2008

MOUNT MARION - Unionized workers at Northeast Solite walked a picket line Wednesday on King Highway in this Saugerties hamlet, having authorized a strike after they were locked out by the plant's management when contract negotiations failed.

John Lynch, an organizer for Local 825 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, said the 34 employees of Northeast Solite, a concrete mining and manufacturing business, were told not to report to work after their three-year contract expired on Monday without a new deal in place.


Northeast Solite workers picket on Wednesday outside the company’s plant on Kings Highway in the Saugerties hamlet of Mount Marion.


The main sticking points in negotiations have been wages, benefits and pension contributions, workers said.

"We've been negotiating for several months," said Lynch, who is not a Solite employee. "Last Friday, the company presented their final offer."

Lynch was unable to provide full details of the offer but said the company was offering annual pay raises of 2 percent, which he described as less than the annual increase in the cost of living, he noted.

FULL story at link.