Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030105
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
It would be the first strike in the plant's 22-year history.
``We're about as far apart as you can get,'' said Ted Overbaugh, president of the 265-member Local 160 of the International Union of Electronic Workers. ``We are in very dire straits.''
Overbaugh said negotiations have bogged down over management's proposal to change seniority rules. The company's proposal, he said, would take workers' privileges away when it comes to being transferred and could hurt them when bidding for jobs. In the event of a layoff, Overbaugh said, the plan might also make it more difficult to ``bump,'' a process in which longtime employees move into jobs occupied by less senior workers to avoid being laid off.
``Right now [the union] does not want to sacrifice seniority at any cost [and] probably will strike'' if negotiations don't turn around, Overbaugh said.
Gerald Shoemaker, the plant manager, had no comment, citing the ongoing negotiations.
Overbaugh said wages were not an issue at this point, although he said the company is doing well enough that it could treat the workers better. ``We know that the company has more business than they can handle,'' he said. ``We think we deserve our piece of the pie.''
Non-salaried workers at the maker of flood and industrial lighting average about $10.69 an hour, Overbaugh said.
The plant is a unit of Hubbell Inc., an Orange, Conn.-based manufacturer of industrial wiring and controls. It employs about 580 people.
Negotiations have been under way since January, and Overbaugh said that if an agreement isn't reached by 5 p.m. today, it's unlikely anything would change over the weekend.
``We're not here to strike. We're here to get a contract,'' he said. But, ``they're trying to force this down our throat.''
by CNB