ATI, United Steelworkers at odds over union's latest contract offer

May 6—The United Steelworkers union on Thursday said it presented a new contract offer to Allegheny Technologies Inc. in an attempt to end their ongoing strike.

Instead of bringing the two sides closer to a resolution, ATI said the union's latest proposal is pushing them further apart.

In a bargaining bulletin, the union said it gave ATI a comprehensive proposal that "enhances the security of our jobs and increases wages without imposing expensive premiums or establishing a lower, two-tier health care proposal for new employees."

The union said its offer also includes solutions to other issues, including a confirmable profit-sharing plan, retiree health care, office and technical issues and shutdown benefits for impacted facilities, including the No. 3 Finishing Department in Harrison.

According to the union, members of ATI management said they were considering the offer and would respond later Thursday.

However, ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said that, while the situation is fluid, nothing else was scheduled.

In its message to employees, ATI said it met with the USW negotiating team Thursday morning expecting it to focus on closing the remaining gaps between the parties.

The major sticking point, the company said, is health care.

But instead, the company said, the union "gave us their bait-and-switch," sharing a proposal that pushes them further apart on two key issues — health care cost sharing and profit sharing.

The USW strike at Allegheny Technologies Inc. began March 30.

ATI made a contract offer to the union on April 20 that expired April 26 after the union rejected it. The company then changed its offer, reducing a lump-sum payment in the first year of a four-year agreement from $4,000 to $2,500.

ATI said the USW asked to meet, saying it was ready to respond to the company's April 26 proposal.

According to ATI, the union has removed health care premiums from its proposal, which had been included in previous union offers, and has brought back profit sharing after several union proposals eliminated it.

"We continue to be confused by the USW's words versus their actions," the company statement said. "We want this strike to end and our employees to return to work. That's why we continue to offer a generous proposal, increasing wages and extending excellent health care coverage at an affordable cost."

The union accuses ATI of offering lump-sum payments while taking away profit sharing, and of offering wage increases lost in health care premiums.

The union said it was not able to verify ATI's profit-sharing calculations because of the company's restructuring of its business segments, and that the company refused to allow the union to conduct an audit.

The union said it proposed a new profit-sharing formula after the company agreed that mistakes had been made.

ATI said it agreed with the union's preference for guaranteed wage increases rather than profit sharing, which can vary, and that's why it offered a lump-sum payment in the first year and 3% wage increases in the second through fourth years.

Premium-free health care is part of workers' compensation, the union said.

"We already have an 90/10 plan with higher deductibles, higher co-pays for overall health care and prescription drugs," the union said in its bulletin.

ATI said it has maintained the importance of employees paying a health insurance premium while delaying their implementation and keeping them at a "modest" level.

The estimated monthly premiums in 2024 based on 5% of COBRA rates range from $40 for an employee only to $125 for a family.

The company said it adjusted its proposal from fixed-cost premiums to percentage-based "so employees will benefit from any reduction in overall health care costs. If the overall health care cost is lower, employees will pay less."

"We will not find a path forward if the USW continues to reintroduce resolved issues rather than focus on narrowing the remaining gaps related to health care," ATI said.

ATI reported a $7.9 million loss in the first quarter of 2021, which ended a day after the strike began.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@triblive.com or via Twitter .