To: All BMRF/B&P Employees
The purpose of this note is to provide you with some very important bargaining updates.
On Tuesday, April 20, the Union provided a counter proposal to the Company, which was to extend the contract to Feb. 1, 2022, pattern wages, and agree on one day of bargaining per week through the end of the year. After review and consideration, the Company declined this proposal on Wednesday, April 21 as it does not meet any of the bargaining objectives shared with the Union over the last 3+ months. The Company met with the Union again this morning for further discussion.
As communicated in our April 8 EIB, the Union provided a 75-day strike notice on February 15. Once the 75-day notice expires, the Union can strike with 24 hours’ notice. Thus, the Union can call a strike any time after the end of April. Following the Union’s February strike notice, the Company provided a 75-day lockout notice to the Union on February 15.
During the meeting on Friday, April 23, the Company communicated its intent to initiate a lockout beginning Saturday, May 1, at 10 am as a result of the lack of progress over the last 3+ months of bargaining and the potential strike. However, please remember that the Company’s current proposal is still on the table. By providing eight days lockout notice, the Company hopes you, our employees, are provided the opportunity to have a voice and vote on the current proposal before a lockout would take place.
In the coming days, the Company and Union will discuss the terms of a handover agreement and subsequently notify all USW represented and EMCO working employees of the necessary information.
Once again, it is our hope that the Union will recognize the months of bargaining that resulted in this offer and take the proposal to a vote. To be clear, a ratification vote on the Company’s current offer would avoid any work stoppage. We want our employee’s voices to be heard in this process. If you are interested in voting, please reach out to your Union leadership to demand a vote.
To maintain our commitment to communication with our full workforce until and throughout any work stoppage, all Employee Information Bulletins moving forward will be posted on our externally visible website at https://embeaumont.com/.