Allegheny Technologies Incorporated announced March 5 that the United Steelworkers (USW)-represented employees at the company's ATI Allegheny Ludlum plants and ATI Albany, Ore., titanium operations ratified new four-year labor agreements. The new agreements expire on June 30, 2011, and succeed existing contracts that run through June 30, 2007.
“We are pleased with the outcome of the ratification vote," said Patrick Hassey, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Allegheny Technologies. “The agreements are fair and balanced for both the company and the affected employees. Ratification of new agreements months before the old agreements were due to expire allows ATI to continue a reliable supply of specialty metals to our customers from our Allegheny Ludlum and
Allegheny Ludlum operates 13 plants that make titanium, stainless steel and other specialty metals, including nine in Pennsylvania and one each in Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Ohio.
“Importantly, these labor agreements maintain the new work environment that began at Allegheny Ludlum with the implementation of our progressive labor agreement in 2004," said Hassey. "Allegheny Ludlum's cost structure continues to be competitive and employees receive a good compensation package.”
Highlights of the agreements include:
· Wage and benefit increases that are in line with anticipated inflation.
· The Allegheny Ludlum contract provides for profit sharing above a specified minimum pre-tax profit at the Allegheny Ludlum operations, and is capped to provide for no more than $20 million of profit-sharing payments over the four-year life of the contract. Any profit sharing payments made under this provision are contributed to an independently administered VEBA (Voluntary Employee Benefit Arrangement) trust.
· The cap on post-retirement benefits (OPEB) negotiated as part of the previous contracts remains in effect.
