Kaiser, Steelworkers Ok More Talks

After another two days of talks, Kaiser Aluminum and the Steelworkers union say they’re still struggling to reach an agreement to end the 18-month labor dispute.

They concluded their meetings in Minneapolis Friday saying a little more about the talks than they have for some time - that they are stuck on a few key issues, but want to continue meeting regularly.

“The main issues continue to be contracting out jobs and retiree benefits,” said Steelworkers spokesman Jon Youngdahl.

Since the labor dispute began on Sept. 30, 1998, the company has wanted to eliminate hundreds of hourly jobs at five plants, including two in Spokane, and assign those duties to contract workers.

The labor dispute has idled 2,900 workers, including 2,100 in Spokane.

The company also wants to change medical benefits for retirees by instituting a cap so retirees would have to cover any medical costs beyond a certain amount.

According to Kaiser, the union agreed to the cap during the last round of contract negotiations in 1994. The union, though, claims it was misled and that it agreed to the cap because negotiators thought it wouldn’t be implemented.

The key sticking point for the company is making changes to improve productivity, said Kaiser spokeswoman Susan Ashe. Those changes include contracting out and changing the work rules so individual workers could perform a greater variety of tasks.

Both sides agreed to continue negotiations the week of April 3 at an undetermined site.

Since January, Kaiser and the Steelworkers have met without the aid of a federal mediator.

“We decided to take a different approach,” Ashe said, adding that since the start of the year, the negotiating teams are now smaller and made up of higher-ranking people. That group includes Kaiser President and CEO Ray Milchovich.

The change may have worked.

“We think the series of talks since January have been constructive,” Ashe said.

The union echoed the remark.

“The fact that we’re still meeting I think has been a good sign, but the progress has been slow,” Youngdahl said.

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The Steelworkers’ chief negotiator David Foster will be in Olympia Monday to show his support for union members lobbying to have their unemployment benefits extended.