Timken and its main union have agreed to a second tentative labor contract after workers rejected an earlier pact. If approved, the deal would guarantee a $225 million expansion of the company's main steel plant near Canton.
The Timken Co. and its main union have agreed to a second tentative labor deal that would guaranty a a $225 million expansion of its Faircrest steel plant in Canton. Workers rejected a similar pact last month.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Less than a month after workers rejected an earlier pact, the Timken Co. and the United Steelworkers have agreed on a new tentative labor deal that would guarantee a $225 million expansion to the company's Faircrest Steel Plant near Canton.
"There are small refinements to what we agreed to recently," Timken spokeswoman Lorrie Crum said. But she added that the terms of the new deal are nearly identical to the contract that workers rejected by a vote of 608-917.
Agreed to in late December, the last tentative pact would have guaranteed -- 2 percent wage increases for each of the next four years and a 3 percent increase in 2017; a $2,000 signing bonus; and increases in pension benefits and health care benefits for entry level workers.
In a written statement, Timken Steel Group President Salvatore Miraglia Jr., called the new contract the company's last offer.
"We have outlined a very attractive investment for our steel operations, but it clearly will not move forward without a new agreement that ensures workforce stability throughout construction and startup," Miraglia said.
Calls to United Steelworkers Local 1123 President Joe Hoagland were not returned late Tuesday. When workers rejected the last tentative deal, Hoagland blamed a two-tier wage structure agreed to in 2009 that lets the company pay new hires lower wages and offer fewer benefits.
"Our membership, one of their bigger things was to bring those people up to pre-2009 levels. We weren't able to obtain that," Hoagland said last month.
Crum said the company and union hope to spend the next few weeks explaining to workers what is in the new contract and what is at stake. The company expects the ratification vote to take place before the end of the month.
In December, the state offered $19.5 million in tax breaks to Timken to help fund the project. Timken agreed to keep employment levels steady for at least 18 years.
Though the company is best known for its bearings and other industrial supplies, Timken's specialty steel business has been a major profit center in recent years, and the company has said it wants to expand its capacity either in Ohio or overseas.