UAW Local 997 on Strike at Maytag Plant in Newton, Iowa
11 June 2004 - 10:43AM
PR Newswire (US)
UAW Local 997 on Strike at Maytag Plant in Newton, Iowa NEWTON,
Iowa, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- UAW Local 997 members at the Maytag
appliance plant in Newton, Iowa, went on strike at 4:00 p.m. (CDST)
today, after an eight-day extension expired without union and
company negotiators reaching tentative agreement on a new contract.
The previous UAW-Maytag contract, which covers 1,525 active
workers, 700 laid-off workers and 2,000 retirees, expired on June
1, but the parties agreed to extend the contract to 10:00 p.m.,
June 9, and continue negotiations. "We went the extra mile and more
to reach a new agreement without a strike. We agreed to a contract
extension, and even after that extension expired last night, we
stayed at the bargaining table and tried to resolve our differences
on health care and retirement issues," said UAW Region 4 Director
Dennis Williams. "The situation at Maytag is yet one more example
of how the United States' broken health care system is placing
enormous strains on the collective bargaining process -- and
hurting both companies and working families," said Williams. "The
simple fact is that we can't solve the health care cost crisis at
the bargaining table; it's a national problem that demands a
national solution." "We understand the importance of Maytag to the
entire Newton community, and we are ready and willing to resume
negotiations at any time. No one ever wants a strike, and we're
prepared to work around the clock to negotiate a fair and equitable
new contract for the hard-working men and women who've built
Maytag's outstanding reputation for quality and dependability,"
Williams said. DATASOURCE: UAW CONTACT: Paul Krell for UAW,
+1-313-926-5291 Web site: http://www.uaw.org/
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