Steelworkers Urge North American Salt to Bargain in Good Faith

Judge Finds Unlawful Conduct Caused Strike, Orders Reinstatement with Back-pay

Contact: Tony Montana (412) 562-2592

PITTSBURGH – The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Margaret G. Brakebusch has recommended that North American Salt be ordered to reinstate and make whole all union members who struck the company over Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) on April 7, 2010, at the company’s salt mine near Lydia, La.

In a decision issued this week, Judge Brakebusch determined that North American Salt committed numerous unfair labor practices by declaring impasse, refusing to bargain in good faith and unilaterally changing working terms and conditions beginning in March 2010.

“Our members deserve an employer who will not resort to illegal schemes to avoid bargaining with them in good faith,” said Gary Fuslier, who chaired the union’s negotiations with North American Salt in 2010.

“From the very beginning of the dispute, we’ve repeated that the strike was the result of the company’s decision to ignore its legal obligation to bargain in good faith with us,” he said.

“With the back-pay liability clock ticking and a clear and strong message that the NLRB will not tolerate this employer’s unfair and illegal tactics,” said Brent Petit, who now chairs the USW committee, “North American Salt immediately should return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith for a fair contract in Lydia.”

The USW (on the web at http://www.usw.org) represents 850,000 workers in a wide variety of industries and the public sector.

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