Posted union notice says no strike in offing at EP

May 16, 2008 08:11 pm

— By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
The strike scheduled to begin Friday at EaglePicher Technologies has been postponed indefinitely, according to a notice signed by an official of Local 812, United Steelworkers of America, and posted at the plant at C Street and Porter Avenue.
There was no answer to numerous phone calls made to the Local 812 by the Globe on Thursday and Friday to check the status of the impending strike, and there was no one at the Local 812 office Friday afternoon at 1220 W. 13th St.
Creed Jones, vice president of EP Technologies’ human resources department, said the company was never officially told that a union strike was scheduled for Friday. The union’s 252 members voted May 2 to strike after union officials and EP Technologies officials could not come to an agreement during their negotiations.
But the union also voted May 2 to give the company two more weeks of negotiations before walking off the job. That deadline was Friday.
Jones said there have not been any in-person contract negotiations between the union and the company since that vote, but there have been several e-mails exchanged. He confirmed there are contract negotiations scheduled for Wednesday through Friday.
The posted notice from the union was signed by Local 812 President Kenneth W. Sharon Jr., and stated because of those scheduled negotiations, “the strike scheduled for May 16, 2008, has been put off until further notice.”
Jones said Friday went by normally, with employees leaving work at 4 p.m.
The union told both the Globe and the company that it would give EP Technologies officials a 24-hour strike notice before walking off the job. As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jones said the company had not been notified.
“Nothing has changed as far as we’re concerned,” Jones said Friday.
The biggest problems union members and officials had with the proposed EP Technologies contract had to do with changes in job classifications, increased health-care premiums and changes to the pension plan.