4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Red Lyon Tavern 944 Mass.
832-8228
NEWS
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2006
Is your body ready for SPRING BREAK?
Flexible student hours Nutritional workshops Awesome spa, sauna & tanning 60+ group exercise classes/week Complimentary personal training sess
TANNING PACKAGES
(Just in time for Spring break)
$70 Three-month unlimited
(Exp. 3/15/06)
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
Short term and non-payment options available.
$99
Initial investment
& only $25/mo.
(New members only)
30天
BODYboutique women's fitness·health spa
749. 2424 www.bodybofitness.com 9th & Iowa
CALL FOR A QUICK TOUR TODAY!
Why rent when you could own!
This Friday, March 3, come by our open house from 4-7 p.m. and find out about various loan options.
- Did you know your parents can co-sign on your loan?
- Roommates offset your payments!
- 2.25% owner-occupied interest rate
- We have 6 floorplans to choose from Join us Friday from 4-7 p.m. at the IRONWOOD NORTH SUBDIVISION I495 MARILEE DRIVE
COLDWELL BANKER
1501 Kasold
4100 W. 6th
800-0955
McGrew Real Estate
843-2055
AP Photo/Middletown Journal, Pat Auckerman
Steel plant replaces strikers
LABOR
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — AK Steel Holding Corp. — relying on hardball tactics used in other labor standoffs — operated its Middletown Works plant Wednesday with salaried and replacement workers after locking out nearly 2,700 union employees.
ankermcrow.com
Both sides said they want to negotiate a new deal to replace the one that expired at midnight Tuesday, but the company said the union must accept that the independent steel maker needs to cut labor costs to survive in the increasingly global industry. Union members, picketing outside plant gates, said they'd already made sacrifices, and that the company had been antagonistic by bringing in replacement workers.
He wouldn't comment on the replacement workers. He said the plant had a stockpile of steel to meet customer demands for an unspecified time.
"We are operating in a manner that we unfortunately must do, under the circumstances," AK Steel spokesman Alan McCoy said.
"I don't feel particularly overpaid," added Bob Hauser, a 29-year employee.
The union, whose members had recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, said it had offered to keep working under the old contract.
"This is not chest-thumping This is not done to intimidate," McCoy said. "It is about serving our customers."
He said most workers understand the competitive situation, worsened by some companies that went into bankruptcy and shed labor obligations. "It's rough. They are sweeping changes. It's a lot to ask at one shot."
The union's president estimated the company had "hundreds" of replacement workers from various sources, but didn't know details. Brian Daley, president of the Armco Employees Independent Federation, said in an interview that union members were frustrated and skepti-
Armco Employees Independent Federation union members wave to passing motorists supporting the union as they drive past the AK Steel slag gate in Middletown, Ohio, on Wednesday. AK Steel Holding Corp., relying on hardball tactics used in other labor standoffs, operated its Middletown Works plant Wednesday with salaried and replacement workers after locking out nearly 2,700 union employees.
their regular hours.
cal about how the plant could operate with the new workers.
"It's a major concern for us
Union workers helped the plant set records for productivity and quality, and take pride in the plant's operations and its importance to this southwest Ohio city of some 50,000 people, he said.
because we care a lot about this pill," he said.
The union, whose members had recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, said it had offered to keep working under the old contract.
While unions have the right to strike, companies for decades could use replacement workers, said Josh Schwarz, a Miami University management professor.
sifications so that workers can handle more duties. AK Steel also wants to reduce the work force and says the union's last proposal would have increased AK Steel's employment costs by $150 million over the length of the three-year, two-month proposal.
The company said its last offer would give raises to most workers, freeze the existing pension plan, force workers to pick up a greater share of health care costs and streamline job clas-
The company said some 80 percent of the union members made between $55,000 and $100,000 in 2005, money that union workers say they earned by working weekends, holidays and double shifts in addition to
Major league baseball and the National Football League have used replacement players, for example.
A in th disco state stay
LAWRENCE 601 KASOLD 1447 W.23RD ST. 922 MASSACHUSETTS ST.
785.331.2222 785.838.3737 785.841.0011
"YOUR MOM WANTS YOU TO EAT AT JIMMY JOHN'S!"
2005 JIMMY JOHN'S FRANCHISE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. We Reserve The Right To Make Any Man Changes.
---