Departments

Local 1990 Contract Negotiations Update
By Region 8 Servicing Representative Mike Brown

UAW Local 1990 represents bargaining unit employees of the NTN-Bower Corporation located in Hamilton, Alabama. This facility manufactures tapered roller bearings and employs approximately 240 employees. The last contract expired April 21, 2006.

The parties opened negotiations on February 21st and met face-to-face approximately twenty-one (21) times since the first meeting. At the first meeting we exchanged non-economic proposals. The Company representatives proposed approximately 235 non-economic changes. The Union proposed approximately 35 non-economic changes. The parties agreed to try to reach agreement on all non-economic items prior to negotiating the economic items of the contract.

On April 18th the Company presented the Union with an economics proposal. The Union reminded the Company that we had an agreement that all non-economic items would be resolved before discussing economic items. On April 22nd, the Company presented the Union with what it claimed was their final economic proposal. The Company called this proposal their “final” proposal despite the fact that no negotiations had taken place on economic issues. This economics proposal was presented to the Union late in the day, at approximately 4:00 P.M. Again, the Union told the Company that the non-economic items had not yet been resolved. Negotiations resumed again on May 8th. On May 9th, the Union made an economic proposal to the Company. After only meeting for a few minutes in face-to-face negotiations on May 10th, the remainder of the meeting was conducted with the assistance of a Federal Mediator.

The parties continued negotiations through the Federal Mediator through Thursday of that week. On May 18th, the Company presented the Union with their “last, best, and final offer”, through the Federal Mediator. The Union requested a face-to-face meeting with the Company to continue to conduct normal contract negotiations. The Company refused to meet with the representatives of the Union. The Federal Mediator said that the Company insisted that further negotiations would be held only through the Mediator.

The Company’s “best and final offer”, included several items that had not been discussed by the parties and continued to include provisions to allow the company to make changes to the Insurance and Pension Plan documents without the Union’s agreement

Employees are currently working under the expired Agreement.

The Union has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board regarding a number of issues including information requested, but never received from the Company, unilateral changes made by the Company, and removal of work from the bargaining unit.