Machinists on Strike (since July 20, 2008) at Moncure Plywood to Vote on New Contract

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/machinists-strike-moncure-plywood-vote-new-contract/

Friday, March 27, 2009

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ ----The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM: undefined, undefined, undefined%) today announced a tentative agreement with Moncure Plywood in Moncure, NC, where nearly 120 members of Local W369 have been on strike since July 20, 2008.

The Machinists will cast ballots March 30, 2009, on the proposed three-year contract, which was hammered out in meetings between IAM representatives and officials from Moncure and Atlas Holdings LLC, Moncure's Greenwich CT-based parent company.

"The Machinists at Moncure have endured and they have prevailed," declared Leon Blocker, Machinists W-2 Directing Business Representative. "The IAM routinely negotiates more than 5,000 contracts across North America and very few involve any kind of work stoppage. The issues in this dispute, however, forced the workers at Moncure to take a stand."

Among the contract terms proposed by Moncure in July 2008 included mandatory seven-day work weeks, the elimination of long-standing seniority protections and significant language changes.

"The new contract is a dramatic improvement over the original offer," said Local W369 President Lewis Cameron. "Seniority is respected, scheduling issues will be resolved more equitably and most importantly, the workers' contract is preserved."

The Local W369 Bargaining Committee is unanimously recommending a 'yes' vote.

The IAM is among the nation's largest industrial trade unions, representing nearly 700,000 active and retired members in dozens of industries throughout North America. For more information about the Machinists union, visit www.goiam.org.

SOURCE International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers