USW Members Strike to Protest Outsourcing Plan at Neo Industries

Contact:  Mike Millsap: (219) 881-6210,  mmillsap@usw.org

GARY, Ind. (February 7) – Twenty-two members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2003-15 at Neo Industries in Portage, Ind., will launch an unfair labor practice strike at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 7, in response to a plan by their employer to unilaterally begin outsourcing truck-driving jobs.

The workers have been bargaining for a new contract since last fall with the grinding and chrome plating company. The previous collective bargaining agreement expired on November 26.

“These workers are not just going to stand by and allow this company to take good-paying jobs that support families and this community and throw them out the window,” said USW District 7 Sub-Director Mike Millsap. “We have been through this before, and we have made concessions in the past to help this company compete. But there is only so much you can give before you stand up and say, ‘enough is enough.’ ”

The USW also plans to file unfair labor practice charges on Friday over the company’s refusal to bargain in good faith. The outsourcing plan would eliminate 10 jobs without providing significant cost savings for the company.

“We have been working in good faith toward a new contact, and we expect the same commitment from the company,” Millsap said. “It’s a shame that they are willing to put good jobs on the line in an effort to save a few dollars.”

The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing workers in a range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, health care, security, hotels, and municipal governments and agencies.

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