Members of the 13 local unions of Kennecott Corp. are each $3,000 richer because they have ratified a new three-year agreement with their employer.
Despite the plum for approving the new contract before the company-imposed May 30 deadline, union members are disgruntled the agreement did not restore the 33 percent wage and benefit reduction that they experienced in 1986.The new agreement contains a 23 percent pay hike spread over the duration of the contract, improved medical benefits and a pension plan multiplier averaging more than 27 percent.
The contract was ratified by 71 percent of the union members who voted, but union officials say the vote reflected a feeling of hopelessness among employees rather than satisfaction with the contract.
"They were hoping to recoup more than that in the negotiations. They felt it fell far short. But they also felt there wasn't a whole lot more for them to gain so they ratified it," said Ralph Christensen, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 392, which represents 440 employees of the 2,100-member union.
The union did not receive cost-of-living wage adjustments it sought in the negotiations, but wage increases averaged about $2 an hour in the first year of the contract and 25 cents an hour in the following two years.
"A lot of people felt it should have been an across-the-board raise," Christensen said. Craftsmen were granted pay raises of $2.30 an hour while utility workers received a $1.50 per hour increase, he said.
Union members did receive some relief on their medical insurance annual deductibles, which were reduced from $350 to $100 for individuals and $700 to $300 for families.
Frank Fisher, Kennecott's director of external affairs, said the company was pleased union members accepted the contract.