TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WBEN) - Union workers at Unifrax went on strike overnight and plan to continue their strike until the manufacturing company can come to an agreement with them on a labor contract.
Dozens of members of the United Steelworkers District 4 Local 2058 are participating in the strike.
"We are just asking for fair things like what we've gotten in the past," Jim Thompson, Committee Chairman of USW District 4 Local 2058, said. "Our people have been here throughout the whole pandemic. They deemed us as essential workers. The men had to come in here while all the people from up front, the salaried personnel, worked from home. They didn't want to come in but we had to come in and keep this place opened."
Thompson claimed Unifrax is trying to ruin the next generation of workers. He claimed the company took state and local tax dollars and lied about creating new jobs.
"They've taken the taxpayers money and turned it around and created s*** jobs that don't pay and won't sustain a family," he said. "They bring temporary labor in rather than honoring the contract we have."
The union workers at Unifrax are hourly employees. Their contract with the manufacturing company expired at the end of January. Unifrax said the union voted over the weekend not to ratify the best and final offer that was implemented by the company on February 1.
"We participated in good faith negotiations with the union November last year through January, with the goal of reaching an agreement that is fair and representative of the labor market that exists in Buffalo and Tonawanda," Brian Walker, Chief Human Resource Officer at Unifrax, said in a written statement. "While a quick end of the strike would be preferable, we have contingency plans in place that allow us to continue operating the plant for the foreseeable future."
Unifrax said the wages in Western New York are higher than any other Unifrax facility. Despite that, they were offering in a new contract to increase annual wages by 2.5% starting this July until 2023. They are also offering other benefits including vacation flexibility, inreased bereavement time, investment in a company apprentice program to further develop employees, more skilled job titles at higher rates with promotion opportunities, matching employer contributions to the 401K plan for new hires, and reimbursement for safety equipment.
"We want to get back to the table and I think the company wants us to get back to the table," Thompson said. "We're going to wait and see. We're going to do what we've got to do. We're going to be out here 24/7 and representing our people and trying to fight for fair jobs and good wages and benefits for the next generation. That's who they're trying to hurt: Our sons and daughters that are coming in and working for pennies on the dollar."
Steve Musilowski, the next committee chairman for the union, claimed he was quarantined four times because of Unifrax. He criticized the company for not keeping clean during COVID.
"They almost refused to do it on a daily basis until we challenged them on it all the time," he said. "They don't care about us. They don't want anything to do with us. All they care about is their production and their money. They told us they can pay us the money. They just don't want to."
