Worker strike at PSC Metals plant

Worker strike at PSC Metals plant

Workers are on strike at Mittal scrap supplier Phillip Service Corp. Metals’ (PSC) Burns Harbor, Indiana facility. Approximately 100 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 142 are picketing at Mittal Steel’s main gate after voting to strike last Wednesday (September 7). Union steward Larry Yarbrough says the Local is striking over pension and salary issues. “There are competitive companies in Northwest Indiana that do the same work we do and we're substantially below them in wages,” Mr. Yarbrough said. The union rejected an offer PSC Metals officials proposed last Friday, with Mr. Yarbrough calling the offer “worse than what we had.” PSC management is singing a different tune, however, saying in a statement released this Monday that the wage and benefits package offered as part of a new three-year contract is “significantly above and beyond” what employees had been receiving. Management said they will continue to support the mill service agreement with Mittal Steel, and will use salaried workers and possibly temporary replacement workers while the union is on strike.