Locked-out AK Steel employees pick Machinists over Steelworkers

Leaders of the Armco Employees Independent Federation had urged members to choose the Machinists rather than the United Steelworkers, saying it would give them leverage in contract talks at the company's Middletown Works.

"Financially, it's become very difficult to remain as an independent," said AEIF president Brian Daley. "We knew we needed the financial strength. The best bang for the buck was to join an international, and we certainly believe the Machinists are the best."

The vote was 1,056 to 790. The parties have seven days to challenge the results, but Steelworkers spokesman Shane Carlin didn't expect the union to object.

The independent union's executive committee, with just one dissenter, endorsed affiliation with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The United Steelworkers, who failed three times to win representation in the 1990s, rejected the AEIF's request to stay out of the representation election.

Trustee Mike Neal, who split with other members of the board and endorsed the Steelworkers, said the outcome would not prevent the two sides from coming together.

"Now we need to come back as one," Neal said. "All of us that wear the gold shirts that say USW need to become IAM and fight this fight with AK Steel once again."

About 150 people watched as NLRB representatives counted the votes at a veterans' hall in Middletown on Thursday. The gold-shirted backers of the Steelworkers were on one side of the hall, and Machinists supports on the other.

Jerry Lykins said he voted for the Machinists because he didn't like the way the Steelworkers tried to win representation in the 1990s.

"I didn't like their tactics then," he said. "I didn't like the way they came in and tried to monopolize this election."

AEIF membership has been declining as AK Steel has shed workers, and union leaders saw their clout fading. The mill had about 3,100 workers just a few years ago; about 2,700 remained when AK locked out hourly production and maintenance workers after their contract expired Feb. 28.

Since then, about 500 members have taken retirement or have left for other jobs, a company spokesman said.

AK has continued to operate the mill with salaried employees and replacement workers, initially saying its temporary work force totaled about 1,500. But in a conference call with industry analysts on Tuesday, CEO James Wainscott said the temporary work force had risen to 1,800 and all departments were operating at or above pre-lockout levels.

The company has said it won't enter another contract that guarantees a minimum work force, and officials have refused to say if they have a target number for the Middletown Works. AEIF members have said they feared that no more than 2,000 jobs would exist when - and if - they return to work.

The Machinists have a multi-employer pension plan with nearly $8 billion in assets that appealed to AEIF leaders. But some AK workers were put off by the Machinists' lack of experience at representing steel workers.

The USW touted its experience with steel companies and its hard line against replacement workers. But some AEIF members were bothered by what they saw as heavy-handed attempts to raid their union.

AK Steel is demanding what it calls a new-era contract that will allow it to be competitive. The four corners of such a deal includes no guaranteed minimum work force, consolidation of job classifications, passing on some health care insurance costs and switching from a fixed-benefits pension to a 401(k) plan.

The AEIF leadership has said it is willing to make concessions on all those issues.

AK Steel makes flat-rolled carbon steel and stainless and electrical steel used in cars and appliances. The company's biggest mill and headquarters are in Middletown, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati, with smaller plants in Zanesville, Mansfield and Coshocton, Ohio; Ashland, Ky.; Rockport, Ind.; and Butler, Pa

By TERRY KINNEY Associated Press Writer