BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — United Steelworkers union members have authorized a strike if contract talks with Alcoa leadership do not lead to a new labor agreement.

Union leaders had previously told members that contract talks with Alcoa had stalled, leading to the authorization vote that led to the “resounding strike authorization vote.”

“We met with Alcoa for bargaining on January 30-31, February 1-2, 20-23, and March 21-23. We offered to continue meeting throughout April, but Alcoa management said they’re not available until May 8-10, which will run us right up to the expiration of the labor agreement,” union leaders said recently.

Officials are hopeful a new agreement can be struck before the current contract expires on May 15 but stipulations on certain aspects of contract negotiations have slowed the process.

As part of negotiations, Alcoa had agreed to a signing bonus with stipulations, however pay increases of 3% and 4% were rejected by the union.

Retirement benefits are also a focal point in negotiations, officials say.

Alcoa officials wrote in a statement that they look forward to ongoing negotiations with union officials, saying they hope to come to a contract that “can provide competitive wages and benefits for our employees while helping our U.S. facilities compete on a global scale.”

This is the first contract negotiations between the two parties since union members ratified the current contract in Sept. 2019.

That contract, which was the first since Alcoa and Archonic split in 2016, included wage increases that totaled 12% over the duration of the contract.

Union officials also said the contract would ensure members would still have access to “high-quality, affordable health care coverage.”