THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270210
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 53 lines
Unionized workers at Metro Machine Corp. rallied at noon Friday to protest a change in the company's overtime rules.
About 200 workers wearing red shirts in a show of solidarity staged the protest outside Metro Machine's corporate offices during their lunch break.
They returned to work without incident following the display.
Workers at the Norfolk shipyard agreed to join the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers last November. Contract talks between the union and the company for 500 members of the bargaining unit have broken down, union officials said.
``We're not going to stand by and allow this company to violate federal law at the expense of the workers without calling them down on it,'' said Gary Payne, a crane operator in the shipyard and a member of the union negotiating committee.
This is the second time in two months Metro has changed work rules at the shipyard without consulting the union, Payne said.
Metro President Richard Goldbach didn't return phone calls Friday afternoon.
The union already has filed one unfair labor practice claim against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union alleges Metro changed the terms and conditions of employment without first ``reaching an impasse'' with the Boilermakers in bargaining over the issue, said Louis D'Amico, the NLRB's regional director in Baltimore.
The NLRB is investigating the charge, D'Amico said.
That claim alleges Metro changed the regular work week to six days from five and increased regular hours to 10 hours from eight for four of the days, Payne said.
The company also placed a moratorium of vacations from June until August, Payne said.
In its latest move, Metro Machine changed the rules for working on weekends, Payne said.
Workers at Metro are represented by Boilermakers' Local 2000, the Chester, Pa., local that represents Metro employees at its shipyards in Chester, Philadelphia and Erie, Pa.
Negotiations for a contract with Metro have stalled lately, said Phil Evans, Local 2000's business manager and secretary/treasurer.
``Talks started out well,'' Evans said. ``They continued pretty good, but just recently they've broken down, but not irreparably.''
``The company's been standing firm over a vacation issue,'' Payne said.
The union has called in a mediator to try to get the talks going again, he said.
``I truly think we could have had a lot more done by now,'' Evans said. ``It's in our best interest to get this thing signed, sealed and delivered. It's not in our interest to try to hurt the company.'' by CNB