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It Pays, $1,055,000, to Belong to the IAM
Nearly 200 members of Local W322, in Prescott, AK, know the value of a strong union and an ironclad union contract. Those workers won production bonuses ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 in an arbitration settlement worth a total of $1,055,000.
When Potlatch Corp. unilaterally changed the terms and conditions of a gain sharing plan negotiated with the union, the union promptly filed a grievance that quickly made its way to arbitration, according to Leon Blocker, District W2 directing business rep.
“We negotiated the plan way back in 1995, but it only came into service in 1998. If workers meet certain production standards, they earn performance bonuses,” he explained. All went well through the early stages. Then, company officials unilaterally changed the production goals, a move which
drastically cut the workers’ bonuses.
The union grievance found its way to an impartial arbitrator who decided the issue in the union’s favor. Blocker cited a committed union grievance committee and BR Darrell Tharp for seeing the matter
to a winning conclusion. |
