Unions accuse AdvanSix of offering pay hikes to slightly more than half the workforce
HOPEWELL — The unions representing striking workers at the AdvanSix plant here are accusing the company of trying to divide union membership by offering pay raises to slightly more than half of the workers.
In the first official statement since 341 employees walked off their jobs Thursday, the unions also claimed the company refused their offer to extend the labor agreement while negotiations continued and cut off employees’ health insurance immediately.
“Even with AdvanSix’s behavior, the union(s) are committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching a fair and equitable agreement,” Tommy Humphries, Region 5 representative for the International Chemical Workers Union Council and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, wrote in the statement.
In addition to the ICWUC and UFCW, workers in electrical, plumbing and machinist fields are affected by the strike.
Friday morning, AdvanSix released a statement calling the proposed agreement “fair and competitive in the market and equitable for our employees.” Humphries said that was not true.
He said AdvanSix proposed raises to only 51% of the workforce in the first year of the five-year contract, then offered “nominal wage increases for the entire bargaining unit in years 2-5.” That came after AdvanSix held a series of meetings with employees in the first quarter of 2023 to talk about how it drew record profits over the past three years that also included the time spent under COVID-19 pandemic. Because the employees were designated as “essential,” they still were required to report to work.
“Our brothers and sisters went to work every day during the pandemic to ensure that the facility continued operations without any discussion of hazard pay that was in the news at the time,” Humphries’ statement read. “Even after all the record profits, the company arrived on the first day of negotiations with a wage adjustment for 51% of the bargaining in the first year and zero wage increase for the other 49% of the bargaining unit in the first year.”
Humphries said AdvanSix’s agenda was “to target 51% of the membership with wage adjustments to divide the membership of each represented union.” The company, he claimed, also asked for concessions on items negotiated in 2018, which was when the existing agreement was ratified.
The unions were asking for improvements that would better the home life-work-life balance for its members.
“Too many times members are working consecutive 18-hour shifts,” Humphries said.
As of now, there are no scheduled meetings to continue negotiations. Humphries said in a separate message to The Progress-Index that he was pushing dates for this week, but added the ball was in AdvanSix’s court to respond.
In its Friday statement, the company did not offer a timetable for meetings, saying only that it has a “contingency” plan in place to keep production on schedule.
The strike is only affecting the plant’s south side. Its north side operates under a separate contract with the United Steelworkers Union and is not a part of the south side stoppage.
AdvanSix has had a presence in Hopewell since 1928 when it was known as Allied Chemical Corp. The nylon and chemical manufacturer’s plant off state Route 10 in east Hopewell is the world’s largest manufacturer of caprolactum, a material used in carpet fibers, films and plastics, and fertilizer. It is also one of the world’s largest makers of ammonium sulfate, which is used in fertilizers to stimulate crop growth.
The labor strife is the latest of issues facing the AdvanSix Hopewell site. Friday afternoon, Hopewell's interim city manager said the city would ask federal and state enviromnetal officials to work with her and the company to remedy at least 66 air- and water-pollution violations that have happened over the past eight years.
More: AdvanSix workers in Hopewell go on strike reportedly over wage issues in new contract
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Unions at striking Hopewell plant say company is trying to divide them
