That answer came on March 15, 2007, when the remaining workforce voted to accept our current agreement. The lockout is part of the history of our town, the union and the company. Reliving the details may serve a purpose for some, but it will not change our collective history. The past is where the lockout should and must remain.
This is not to say the lockout did not influence the town or its people; it certainly has. More than half of the members employed before the lockout are no longer working for AK Steel. Some are running their own businesses; some work for other employers in Middletown and beyond; and many retired.
While some retirees continue to work elsewhere, none of them are dependent on the future profits of AK Steel for their health insurance. It is not what it was, but — through the sacrifice of the active workers and the settlement reached by the retirees and AK Steel — it is better than what it could have been.
The workers voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers during the lockout. The local elected new leadership, and AK Steel placed new managers in charge of labor relations at the Middletown Works.
While we don’t see eye-to-eye on every issue inside the plant, we understand that we will sink or swim together. This led to our cooperative efforts in making the new coke plant a reality.
Although the project has taken many twists and turns along the way, we remain steadfast in our support of AK Steel’s need for this vital raw material and energy. We are grateful that our City Council helped us secure the future employment of everyone working at the Middletown Works.
The entire industry is littered with shuttered facilities where investments, such as this, were not made.
The IAM, through its Trade and Globalization Department, assisted us in testifying before the International Trade Commission in 2007. In 2009, we testified with the company against an application by one of their competitors requesting special trade status at the Commerce Department. In short, a foreign company wanted to avoid taxes that other domestic manufacturers are required to pay.
The favorable ruling, issued late in 2010, proved that working cooperatively with our company produces results in Washington, D.C.
Life in the plant has its ups and downs. The Great Recession, beginning in 2008 and continuing through today, affects us all. The company wisely took advantage of the downturn and invested in a re-line of the hearth at the blast furnace in 2009. We agreed to give them some flexibility on layoffs, which worked to the benefit of everyone. By September 2009, everyone laid off had been recalled.
The company steadily added workers in 2010, but we probably won’t run at full capacity until more Americans find good-paying jobs.
Much of the steel produced in Middletown ends up in new automobiles and other “big-ticket” items. As such, our fortunes will ultimately always be tied directly to the relative size and strength of America’s middle class.
What is of utmost concern to our members is not the lockout of 2006, but the negotiations of 2011. Our contract expires on Sept. 15, but we will try to reach an agreement earlier. Our members deserve an agreement that is on par with other workers in our industry, and that reflects the contributions they make every day in helping the company be successful. We are confident this can be achieved.
We understand AK’s position from a competitive standpoint; their need to sustain profits; and that successful negotiations will benefit everyone in our community.
Well-paying jobs with good benefits is how new hospitals get built, how city services get delivered, and how tuition is paid at Miami University Middletown (and hopefully at Cincinnati State).
We look forward to continuing our history with our employer, Middletown and surrounding communities for another 67 years and beyond.
D. Scott Rich is a directing business representative and organizer for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. He is the president of local Lodge 1943, which represents more than 1,750 hourly workers at AK Steel and Pilot Chemical in Middletown.