Clarification

Kaiser Aluminum says a headline and lead paragraph of a recent story by The Spokesman-Review inaccurately characterized the National Labor Relations Board opinion about the legality of the company’s lockout of its employees.

A review of the headline and story by senior editors and with the NLRB suggests some clarification of the headline and story would be appropriate, said Chris Peck, editor of The Spokesman-Review.

“The newspaper wants to make sure we retain our credibility with readers, Kaiser management and union workers, and we regret any misunderstanding of the NLRB opinion that may have resulted from our headline and story,” Peck said.

The front page headline on the April 27 story may have left some readers with the impression that a ruling by the general counsel of the NLRB that the lockout is illegal is the final step in the legal process.

In fact, the ruling by the NLRB’s general counsel, while significant, is but one more step in what likely will be a long court fight over the legality of the Kaiser lockout.

The NLRB ruling, or opinion, is like a decision by a prosecutor to take charges forward in a case.

The NLRB confirmed Friday that it believes it can prove the lockout was a violation of federal labor law if the case comes before an administrative judge.

Kaiser disagrees. The company says it believes it will be able to demonstrate the lockout was legal if the case goes before the administrative judge or on to federal court.

- Editor’s note