Tuesday, February 24, 1998
American Ecology rejects union offer
Last modified at 1:23 p.m.
on Tuesday, February 24, 1998
by Mark Newbold Neal
Oak Ridger staff Officials from American Ecology rejected a proposal made Tuesday by workers represented by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, prolonging the workers' two-week-old strike.Sixty-seven members of the local OCAW branch work at the American Ecology Recycle Center in Oak Ridge, where the company specializes in the treatment and packaging of radioactive waste.
The contract between the company and the union workers, who handle the waste and conduct health and safety programs at the facility, expired just before the strike. The OCAW workers remain on strike due to the inability of the two parties to reach agreement on a new three-year contract.
The two parties returned to the negotiating table Monday, said Mike Alley, a striking worker and OCAW vice president. A key issue to be worked out in the new contract is the cost of the union workers' insurance benefits.
American Ecology officials claim that the union workers should pay a greater share of the more comprehensive benefit package that the company provides for them.
On Monday, Alley said, the union offered to return to work under the conditions of the expired contract for one more year. In addition, the union workers proposed to pay 25 percent of the cost of each worker's benefit plan. American Ecology rejected that offer, Alley said.
The workers planned to continue their strike by holding a rally at 4 this afternoon in front of the American Ecology plant. Harold Woods from Knoxville's General Labor Council was to speak at the rally.
Alley said the workers also have a safety concern keeping them on strike. He said plant management is allowing untrained workers to handle the waste and is violating its state permits. Alley said he has notified the state Department of Environment and Conservation about the concern.
The Oak Ridger tried to contact the American Ecology plant manager for the company's comments on the negotiations, but no one returned the call.