(FALCONER, NEW YORK) - It Would Seem as Though a Four-Month Strike at RHI Monofrax’s Plant in the Southern Tier – Which Impacted a Combined Total of 150 Union-Represented Workers – is Finally Over.  However, While One of the Two Involved Unions Has Issued a Formal Announcement That its Members Have Ratified a New Five-Year Contract, the Other Has Yet to Do So – and According to a Number of Social Network Postings, it Appears “Discussions are Still Continuing to Resolve ‘Outstanding Issues.’”

A Total of 150 Workers, Represented by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) and National Conference of Firemen and Oilers Local 266-F - an Affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Walked Off the Job On September 29th After Rejecting the Company’s Contract Offer.  RHI Monofrax’s Chautauqua County Plant, Which is Located Just Outside Jamestown, Makes Fusion Cast Refractories That are Primarily Used in the Glass Industry. 

According to the IAM, RHI Monofrax Wanted the Workers to Agree to Massive Increases in Health Care Costs for a Plan With Far Less Coverage, While Giving the Company the Unilateral Ability to Change Plans and Rates as They See Fit.  The Company Also Insisted On Freezing the Defined Benefit Pension and Replacing it With a Standard Matching 401k With Far Less Value, the Unions said.

In Late December, the Firemen and Oilers Union Filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Charges Against RHI Monofrax, Alleging the Company Was Actively Encouraging its Union-Represented Workers to Abandon Their Strike and Return to Work.

“Basically, the Company’s Calling the Workers, Asking They Abandon the Picket Lines and Come Back to Work.  We Have Members Who are Willing to Testify to That,” Dean DeVita - Who Serves as NFCO Secretary-Treasurer and Director of Commuter/Passenger Railroads - Told WNYLaborToday.com a Couple of Days Before Christmas (See Your On-Line Labor Newspaper’s December 23rd Labor News Report: UPDATE: NFCO Files ULP Charges Against RHI Monofrax, Alleging Company’s Encouraging Its Union-Represented Workers To Abandon Strike & Return To Work).

In Addition, DeVita Told WNYLaborToday.com the Company Was Telling the Union That More Than 20 Replacement Workers it Had Hired During the Course of the Three-Month-Old Strike Were Now Considered “Permanent Hires,” Which Potentially Places in Jeopardy Union Jobs Once the Strike Comes to an End.

But in Recent Days, There Has Been Significant Movement.

During the Middle of Last Week, the Unions Apparently Met With Company Management.

Later That Day, a Membership Meeting Was Called by the Fireman/Oilers Union.

Then a Day or Two Later The Jamestown Post Journal Reported That After Four Months of Striking, RHI Monofrax Employees are Readying for a Return to Work.

Then On Late Friday (January 30th), IAM Business Representative Peter B. Cooney Sent Out the Following E-Mail to WNYLaborToday.com: Machinist Union Members of Local Lodge 2105, On Strike at RHI Monofrax in Falconer Ratified a New Five-Year Agreement, Which Ends a Strike That Began On September 28th (2014).  The Workers Return to Work February 9th (2015) And Consider the Strike a Success in That the Serious Financial Burden Regarding Health Care, That the Company Was Trying to Shift to the Workers, Has Been Tempered.  The Cost of the Insurance Will Now be Cheaper Than Pre-Strike and the Increase in Premium Share Will be Spread Over Five Years Instead of Three Years. The Most Important Item Achieved Through the Strike Was Language Ensuring Health Insurance Plans and Rates Must Remain Comparable Year to Year With Access to the Grievance Procedure if They Fail to Keep Them Comparable.  The Language Addition Effectively Guarantees Health Care for Our Members for Five Years, Whereas No Such Guarantee Existed in the Offer the Members Voted to Strike Over.  We Are Glad This Difficult Situation is Over and Look Forward to Resuming a Good Relationship With RHI Monofrax and Working With Them in the Decades Ahead. 

However, On Facebook, Several Firemen/Oiler Members and Striking RHI Monofrax Posted Some Emotional Comments Alluding to the Fact That a Vote Had Been Taken On a Contract Offered by Management.

WNYLaborToday.com Was Unable and Has Yet to Obtain Any Official Comment From Union Representatives.

Then Things Turned Again When the Firemen/Oilers Union Posted the Following On Facebook to its Striking Membership: The Following Communique is From the National Office of the NCFO/SEIU: Dear Brothers & Sisters - Immediately After Wednesday Night's Membership Meeting, the Union Began Discussions With the Company to See if We Can Still Resolve the Outstanding Issues. We are Continuing Those Discussions and Hope to be Able to Provide Some Answers Early (This) Week.  Once We Have More Definitive Information, We Will Hold Another Meeting.

Getting Back to the IAM, the Union Issued a Formal Letter of Thanks to Those in the Labor Movement Who’d Supported Them During the Strike and Focused a Clearer Spotlight On Additional Specifics of Their New Five-Year Contract With RHI Monofrax:

The Strike Allowed Us to Negotiate a Lower Insurance Premium Increase for Our Members in 2015.  It Was Reduced From a 30% Increase to a 19% Increase, Which in Turn Should Mean Lower Costs for the Next Five Years. The Agreement Allowed Us to Spread the Company-Proposed Increase (17% to 30%) in Employee Premium Share Over Five Years of Wage Increases, Rather Than Three Years.

While These Gains are Not of the Glamorous Type We Were Used to Enjoying in Decades Past, They are Extremely Important to Our Members and Their Families.

I Like to Think Their Willingness to Stand Up So Strongly for What They Believe in Not Only Helps Them, But Every Member of the Labor Community.  I Applaud and Thank Them for Taking On Corporate Greed in Such a Manner and in Such Difficult Times.

The Success We Realized Because of Their Effort is Also Due - in Part - to All of You.

The Support at the Picket Line, the Donations, the Help We Received in Spreading the Word is All So Important and Immensely Appreciated.  Two Great Rallies Gave a Welcome Vote of Confidence and an Undeniable Feeling That We Were Not Alone in This Fight.  The Brotherhood and Sisterhood Enjoyed During These Events and Throughout This Process Made it Clear We All Fight the Same Fights and Need Each Other’s Help.

We Enjoyed Help From Many Other Unions (Local, Regional, State, National and International).  We Also Enjoyed the Support of Elected Officials in Both U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Governor Andrew Cuomo.  I Know I'll Probably Miss Some Groups, But I’m Attempting to List You All.  Please Accept My Apology if I Miss You and Know That Your Help, in Whatever Manner it Came, Was Immensely Appreciated and Instrumental in the Positive Outcome We Realized.

The IAMAW Individually Thanked the Following: The Western New York Area Labor Federation; the Jamestown AFL-CIO Central Labor Council; the Dunkirk AFL-CIO Central Labor Council;  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 106; New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Teacher Association Locals in Dunkirk, Jamestown, Falconer, Fredonia, Frewsburg, Panama and Southwestern; the Buffalo and Southwestern (New York) Building & Construction Trades Councils; International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17; Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 807; the Jamestown Fire Department; lron Workers Local 410; American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 418; United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 338; IAMAW Locals 1555 and 2105; IAMAW District 65 Local Lodge.

In Addition the IAMAW Also Thanked IAMAW Grand Lodge (International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger); IAMAW Eastern Territory (General Vice President Lynn Tucker and His Staff); and IAMAW International Representative Owen Hernstadt.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: For Additional Labor News Coverage on the RHI Monofrax Strike, Go to Your On-Line Labor Newspaper’s December 3 Labor News Story: Calling Corporate Greed A “Contagious And Deadly Disease,” WNY Labor Unites Outside Jamestown For A ‘Solidarity Rally’ In Support Of Striking RHI Monofrax Workers.