Steelworkers file charges against Meridian Automotive

RP news wires, Noria Corporation

The United Steelworkers union (USW) on October 25 said that it has filed a complaint against Meridian Automotive Systems Inc. in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio because the company violated the federal Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act when it did not provide adequate notice to its USW-represented workforce before laying them off permanently.

The complaint, filed officially on October 19, carries with it a potential back-pay liability to the members of USW Local 820L who lost their jobs when the company ceased production at its Jackson, Ohio, operation in late August.

The union has also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Meridian with Region 9 of the National Labor Relations Board for failing to recall its union workforce after a lockout, which ended when the members of Local 820L ratified a contract offer from Meridian on July 30, 2007.