Striking workers, owners at Mallinckrodt plant not talking
Written on May 15, 2010
ST. LOUIS — No negotiations are scheduled between company officials and about 400 striking workers at Mallinckrodt’s chemical plant north of downtown.
Members of United Auto Workers Local 1887 rejected a company proposal that called for 2.5 percent wage increases in each of the next four years. Union leaders said the company sought to eliminate retiree medical care, reduce overtime compensation and weaken seniority rules.
"They want to take so many things away from us we thought it was unfair,” said Ken Farwell, the local’s first vice president. "We have the CEO of the company making $15 million a year. We couldn’t understand how we could take the losses they were offering us."
Company officials declined to discuss the issues under negotiation. The contract expired April 30. Workers walked off just past midnight on May 1 after about a month of talks, Farwell said. No discussions have been held since.
About 800 people work at the more than 100-year-old plant, at 3600 North Broadway, near the McKinley Bridge. The plant produces chemicals used in a variety of products, including pharmaceuticals.
Hundreds of managers and supervisors have been keeping the facility at full operation during the strike.
"Our focus continues to be on ensuring the plant remains a vital part of the community, continuing to be able to recruit and retain highly-skilled employees, while providing high-quality, chemical products that are used worldwide," company spokesperson Erica Abbett said in an e-mail.
In the last contract negotiation in 2006, the company locked out workers before the union eventually ratified a four-year contract that improved pension benefits, increased wages 3 percent annually and introduced premium cost-sharing in health care plans.
Mallinckrodt is a unit of Covidien Ltd., formerly Tyco Healthcare. Covidien is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, although most of its corporate functions operate out of Mansfield, Mass.
Filed in: money.