Kaiser Not Willing To Bargain, Workers Told Company Says Union Proposal Won’T Fly

The Steelworkers Union’s chief negotiator visited Spokane Monday to update 2,100 workers on strike at Kaiser Aluminum’s two local plants.

On the 68th day of the strike, and in spite of union efforts, there’s still no schedule for the company and the union to return to negotiations, David Foster said.

On Dec. 1, the union presented Kaiser negotiators in Minneapolis with a proposal it said would improve the company’s productivity while not costing any union jobs. The company rejected the proposal as unacceptable and left without agreeing on another meeting date.

“The company, by its behavior this past week, has shown convincingly to us it is doing everything it can to avoid getting to the bargaining table,” Foster said Monday.

But the company said it had found the union’s offer lacking. “We did not think their proposal was particularly responsible,” said Kaiser spokeswoman Susan Ashe. “It would have made the Kaiser steelworkers the highest paid in the industry, and it was much too restrictive.”

“We want an agreement, but not a disenabling one, or one we couldn’t afford,” Ashe said.

Foster said Kaiser has repeatedly postponed negotiations. “I think they’re simply trying to put economic pressures on our members,” he said.

“This company is now joining the ranks of a few extremely scurrilous businesses that are determined to go to war against organized workers,” Foster said.

The company said Foster’s comments were counterproductive.

“Mr. Foster’s rhetoric does not contribute to resolving this issue,” Ashe said. “Obviously we want an agreement. We compromised a great deal in terms of the proposal we put on the table Sept. 30 that we thought was fair and reasonable.”

Kaiser has had frequent communications with Foster since the strike began, Ashe said. “We’re not clear what he’s attempting to do here in the public purview.”

Meanwhile, many of the idled workers have found other jobs.

“Kaiser is losing experience,” said Larry Strom, vice president of the Mead union local. “They’re also losing the good will of some of their best employees.”

Kaiser’s plants continue to operate with the help of temporary workers, salaried employees and retirees, Ashe said. “We have not missed a beat in terms of customer commitments,” she said.

Today, officials from Boeing, one of Kaiser’s new major customers, will tour the Trentwood plant.

The visit is “routine” Ashe said. “Boeing has been in already early in the strike and gave us a great quality rating.”

Last month Boeing observers visited Kaiser’s plant, rated the aluminum good and said Kaiser is meeting its obligations, she said.

Meanwhile in Tacoma, four people, including two who climbed a large crane, were arrested for investigation of trespassing Monday at a demonstration in support of Kaiser workers.

Nearly 80 demonstrators, including striking Steelworkers and members of the environmental group Earth First!, were at Port of Tacoma’s Pier 7 early Monday. They tried unsuccessfully to prevent the arrival of a ship carrying aluminum ore. Two protesters climbed a large crane that holds a conveyer used to move the ore.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.