AK Steel lockout wears on
Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Don Baker Courier Contributor
Jim Adams hangs his head and slumps forward in a folding metal chair as he collects his thoughts. He then methodically tells the story of what his life has been like for the past year and a half.
The Ashland, Ohio, man spent nearly two decades as a roll grinder in AK Steel Corp.'s Mansfield mill. He's one of 620 members of the United Steelworkers of America who have been locked out of their jobs since their labor contract expired in September 1999.
The emotional and financial toll the lockout has taken on Adams is clear in the tears that cloud his eyes.
"They stole our lives, and we didn't deserve this," Adams said. "But they didn't just steal our lives; they stole our families' lives. The part that amazes me is they have no remorse about it."
Adams, like many of his fellow members of the USWA Local 169, spends most days rotating four-hour shifts on the picket line and helping deliver donated food to other workers and their families.
As he continues to talk about the past 19 months, his thoughts focus on his family and what the future holds for him and his wife of 27 years, a nurse at a school for developmentally disabled children in Ashland.
"I've worked in the mill for 18 years. I'm 48. If I start over now I'll never know retirement. I'll work until I die," Adams said. "They've stolen something from me that I can never get back."
The issues
AK Steel officials would not comment for this story but have said publicly the workers were locked out when the old contract expired because they feared union members would vandalize the plant, and because of threats made against management.
The two sides have yet to talk seriously about the contract, and no meetings are planned. Meantime, salaried employees and replacement workers keep the mill running, and the company says production is equivalent to pre-lockout levels.
Tony Montana, an official with the USWA's international headquarters in Pittsburgh, said there have been informal talks but no real progress. Several issues stood in the way of a deal, with mandatory overtime being the primary stumbling block.
"This whole situation is insane," said Dwight McCollom, a Springfield native and 13-year veteran of the plant. "Why are they doing this? We offered to work under the old contract, but the company wouldn't do that, so it can't be a contract issue."
Both sides have launched media campaigns to wage their battle. In fliers, on radio and on the Internet, the USWA has continued to attack AK Steel for everything from the lockout to alleged environmental violations. It also has sent letters to AK Steel's institutional investors claiming the company isn't acting in its shareholders' best interest.
AK Steel television ads -- which ran for a time last year -- featured video of a riot that broke out in front of the plant two weeks after the lockout began.
Community support
The union is trying to make sure none of its members go hungry and has organized a food bank to help keep groceries in workers' cupboards.
"If it weren't for the community support and the churches and the people around here that have helped out, a lot of these people would have went under," said the Rev. Tony Henderson, who retired from the plant seven months before the lockout began and has a son in the union.
The USWA also is paying each member about $120 per week and has made monthly payments on home mortgages, according to locked-out workers huddled around a small fire burning in a metal barrel. The money comes from the international union, which manages a large strike fund.
But workers on the picket line say what they really want is to go back to work.
"My job is to get my job back," Adams said. "It's really hard for me to let my wife be the main income provider. I've always been used to working and being the breadwinner."
Some workers, like Don Metz Jr., who operated the electric arc furnace in the plant for 18 years, have begun to look for other work to support their families. But the job search is difficult, because employers don't want to hire someone they know will quit and return to their job at AK Steel if the lockout ends, according to the union.
"I've tried 50 or 60 places to try and get a job and can't find one," Metz said. "People treat us like we have the plague."
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