THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 31, 1996 TAG: 9607310444
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 48 lines
Union workers at Metro Machine Corp. staged their second rally in three work days outside the shipyard gate at noon Tuesday.
More than 250 members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers gathered in the street outside the yard in Norfolk's Berkley section in a show of unity during their lunch break. The shipyard employs about 500 workers.
``We need to pull together now,'' Dave Ottney, a member of the union negotiating committee, exhorted the crowd. ``I think they're getting the message.''
Ottney, a maintenance electrician in the shipyard, and the rest of the committee is meeting with the shipyard's management today to jump-start contract negotiations. The talks have stalled over a vacation issue and union allegations of unfair labor practices.
The Boilermakers have filed at least one unfair-labor practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board.
``We disputed it,'' said Richard Goldbach, president of Metro Machine.
Goldbach declined to get into the specifics of the union claim or to discuss the negotiations with the union.
``Whether what's been said reflects the general attitude of the work force, I don't know,'' Goldbach said. ``I certainly hope not. . . .
``Our only interest is in bargaining at the bargaining table,'' he said. ``We have no interest in bargaining through the newspaper or in responding to other forms of pressure they might put on us.''
Workers at Metro Machine joined the Boilermakers last fall. The Boilermakers Local 2000 represents employees at Metro shipyards in Philadelphia, Chester, Pa., and Erie, Pa.
The workers rallied peacefully for about 20 minutes before returning to work.
``We don't want to destroy this company, because that would put us out of work . . .,'' said Danny Forehand of Hampton, a pipefitter for six years in the shipyard who was in the crowd. ``We just want it to be a fair place to work.''
Metro Machine is in an interesting position. The majority of the company is owned by the employees' stock retirement program that invests in the company's stock. Goldbach owns the remaining minority stake, but is the retirement program's sole trustee.
``For the past 10 years, the company has been telling us that we are the owners,'' said Gary Payne, a crane operator in the yard and also a negotiating committee member. ``As owners of this company we demand that Metro stop committing these unfair labor practices against its employees.'' by CNB