MIDDLETOWN, Ohio-
Union leaders are recommending that locked out AK Steel employees reject a final contract offer made by the company in the 7-month-long labor standoff at the Middletown Works plant, a union spokesman said.
The union’s executive committee planned to present copies of the proposal to union members Sunday, and members will vote Monday on the contract, International Machinists Union spokesman Jim Tyler said.
Tyler said the committee believes the negatives in the proposal outweigh the positives and was upset by the short timeframe AK Steel gave the union to consider the offer.
The proposal was presented to union leaders Friday and is good through Monday, company spokesman Alan McCoy said.
Neither Tyler nor McCoy would comment on specifics of the proposal.
“We believe it’s fair and equitable,” McCoy said.
Both sides have been engaged in a bitter dispute since the company locked out about 2,500 employees on Feb. 28 after their contract expired.
AK Steel has been using 1,800 salaried and replacement workers to operate the plant since the lockout began. The company has said any new contract needs to eliminate work force guarantees and include shared health care costs to stay competitive.
——
On the Net:
AK Steel:
Armco Employees Independent Federation:
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.