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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Weather Varies At Strike Sites

Grayden Jones And Bert Caldwell S Staff writer

Notebook

While Spokane Steelworkers worked on their tan during the first three days of the Kaiser strike, their union brothers and sisters in Heath, Ohio, huddled around burning barrels to keep warm.

Under cloudy skies, about 300 striking Kaiser workers at the rod and bar plant in Heath endured sub-freezing temperatures. Heath is 25 miles east of Columbus, Ohio.

In Spokane, the thermometer on Wednesday rose to a pleasant 53 degrees, 10 degrees higher than normal and four degrees lower than the all-time high for the day, the National Weather Service said.

But Spokane pickets didn’t enjoy the warmth covering Gramercy, La., where Steelworkers are striking a Kaiser alumina refinery plant in 73-degree temperatures. Gramercy is 20 miles west of New Orleans.

As the strike enters its fourth day, about 70 union workers have applied for state unemployment benefits in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

By choosing to walk off the job, striking workers likely would be disqualified for benefits, according to the Washington Department of Employment.

But if Kaiser should change its mind and move to permanently replace the workers, then they could qualify.

Kaiser officials said they have no plans to hire replacement hourly workers for the Mead smelter and Trentwood rolling mill in the Valley. About 700 salaried employees are attempting to operate the plant.

At Kaiser wages, most pickets would receive the maximum $343 per week in unemployment benefits. Payments at that level to all 2,100 union workers would cost $720,000 a week.

Unemployment benefits are paid out of an insurance trust that’s funded by a tax on Kaiser and nearly every other employer in the state. Because the Kaiser plants are in Washington, the department ultimately would process - and pay on - all claims even if the worker lives in Idaho.

Don Ott, area administrator for the department, said his office may set up a temporary sign-up desk in union offices to reduce the work load at the Job Service center in east Spokane.

Dan Lambert, placement supervisor for Job Service, added that the agency has a strict policy to not recruit replacement workers during a strike.

“There’s no doubt that plenty of people who are making far less wages would be interested in those jobs,” Lambert said. “But as far as we’re concerned, there’s no opportunity until the strike is resolved.”

Bus drivers bringing salaried workers into Kaiser’s Mead and Trentwood plants are on no holiday, but despite some confrontations the drivers report they are being treated congenially.

The buses have been provided by Mayflower Contract Services.

Senior Operations Manager Van Criddle said three drivers who normally drive over-the-road or fill in on school bus routes volunteered for the Kaiser duty, for which they are getting regular pay.

Mayflower in Spokane is nonunion, he said.

Although pickets at times have hit the buses with signs and stones, Criddle said there has been no damage beyond some minor paint chips.

Asked his assessment of the Kaiser situation, he said, “I don’t think a strike is ever in anybody’s best interests.”

The Kaiser strike has the attention of officials at the Vanalco Corp. smelter in Vancouver, Wash., where the United Steelworkers are trying to negotiate their first contract.

Personnel Manager Bill Kelly called The Spokesman-Review on Tuesday morning looking for a copy of the picture that accompanied the stories on the first day of the strike.

After a two-year battle, workers voted to certify a union by a margin of only two votes out of more than 500 cast.

The struggle in Spokane will give workers further food for thought, Kelly said.

The Vanalco smelter, almost identical to Mead, was formerly owned by Alcoa. Private investors purchased the then-shuttered plant 7 1/2 years ago.

The Spokane Labor Council, an umbrella organization for 15,000 union workers, is pledging support to the Steelworkers.

“We’ll supply whatever they need as time goes on,” said John Leinen, secretary-treasurer of the labor council. “If they need help (on picket lines), we’ll get other locals to volunteer - whatever it takes.”

The Steelworkers have not requested any help, but Leinen said Teamsters and members of other unions already have shown up on the picket lines at Kaiser’s Trentwood rolling mill and Mead smelter.

Meanwhile, the Steelworkers are videotaping trucks that enter Kaiser factories and plan to distribute the pictures to truckers’ unions.