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Section
A.
Partnership
1.
Purpose and Intent
The
purpose of this Section is to create a framework for ongoing discussion
between the Company and the
Union
about issues that arise during the term of the BLA, including changes in
the market or business conditions, adjustments to business strategy and
Workplace Change.
2.
Access to Information
The
Company shall provide the
Union
and its advisors with:
a.
full and continuing access to its short and long-term operating
and financial results and forecasts including inputs relevant to the
development of them;
b.
the earliest practicable notification and continuing updates of
any contemplated material corporate transactions, including mergers,
acquisitions, joint ventures and new facilities to be constructed or
established; and
c.
information and continuing updates on any proposed Workplace
Change.
Access to and the use of this
information will be covered by a reasonable confidentiality agreement.
3.
Comprehensive Training and Education Program
a.
Company and
Union
representatives shall receive ongoing training developed and conducted
by their respective organizations in the application of this Section.
b.
The
Company shall fund all costs associated with training programs referred
to in this Section.
c.
Any
training that is attended by both Employees and managers shall be
jointly developed and implemented.
4.
Mechanisms
The parties agree to the following to carry out
this Section.
a.
Strategic Labor Management Committee
(1)
Appointment and Composition
A
Joint Strategic Labor Management Committee (Strategic Committee) shall
be established consisting of for the Company: the Chief Executive
Officer, Corporate Manager of Labor Relations and the highest ranking
official at each of the Company’s facilities, and for the Union: the
Chair of the Union’s Negotiating Committee, the Secretary of the
Union’s Negotiating Committee and the Local Union President(s) and
Unit Chair(s) at each of the Company’s facilities.
Each side shall designate a Co-Chair and provide the other with
an updated list of its members of the Committee.
(2)
Meetings
The
Strategic Committee shall hold at least quarterly meetings in
Cleveland
(or at another
location as agreed) of at least one (1) full day.
These meetings will be for the purpose of reviewing and
discussing the information described in Paragraph 2 above (it being
understood that the Union Co-Chair will be updated more frequently
regarding time-sensitive information) as well as other information and
updates reasonably requested by the
Union
.
(3)
Access to Board of Directors
The
Union members of the Strategic Committee shall have the right to appear
before and be heard by the Board of Directors on matters of concern to
the
Union
.
b.
Plant Labor Management Committees
(1)
Appointment and Composition
The
parties shall establish a Plant Labor Management Committee (Plant
Committee) at each of the Company’s facilities. The Plant Committee
shall be composed of an agreed upon equal number of (between two (2) and
five (5)) Union and Company representatives. The Company members of a
Plant Committee shall include the Plant Manager and others as the Plant
Manager designates. The
Union members shall include the Local Union President/Unit Chair and
such other members as the Local Union President shall appoint. The Plant
Manager and Local Union Presidents/Unit Chairs will be the Co-Chairs.
(2)
Meetings
The
Plant Committee shall meet at least monthly. These meetings will be for
the purpose of reviewing and discussing information concerning the
operations, results and outlook for the Company, with emphasis on the
particular facility, as well as information concerning Workplace
Changes.
c.
Area Labor Management Committees
(1)
The Plant Committee shall establish Area Labor Management
Committees (Area Committees) in specific departments, operational units
or divisions. The Area Committee Co-Chair for the
Union
shall be the Grievance Committeeman/Committeemen for the area(s). The
Co-Chair for the Company shall be the Division Manager for the area (or
his/her designee). Additional members of the Area Committee shall be
drawn equally from the Company and
Union
.
The Local Union President/Unit Chair (or designee) and the Plant Manager
(or designee) may attend meetings of the Area Committees.
(2)
The Area Committees shall provide a forum for exchange of
information and discussion of issues related to operations and Workplace
Changes.
d.
Problem Solving Teams
The
Plant Committee or an Area Committee may create one or more Problem
Solving Teams to study and report back on a specific problem or project.
e.
Company-Wide Meetings
(1)
In each calendar year the parties will hold a two (2) day meeting
(the first day for separate meetings for preparation) in proximity to a
Company facility to review and discuss the information described in
Paragraph 2 above with the
Union
’s leadership at
the plants, Districts and International.
(2)
The Strategic Committee shall agree on a level of disclosure
appropriate for the group.
(3)
Union participants shall include the Chair of the Union
Negotiating Committee, Secretary of the Union Negotiating Committee,
Local Union Presidents/Unit Chairs and Grievance Committee Chairs (or
their designees) at each of the Company’s facilities.
Company participants shall include the Company’s officers,
Plant Managers and such others as the Company may designate.
5.
Workplace Change
a.
The Plant Committee and relevant Area Committee shall be provided
with the earliest practicable notification of any plan to significantly
modify or change in any way machinery, equipment, controls, materials,
software, work organization or any other work process that could
directly or indirectly impact Employees (a Workplace Change).
Such notification shall include:
(1)
a
description of the purpose, function and established timetable of the
Workplace Change, and how it would fit into existing operations and
processes;
(2)
the
estimated cost of the proposed Workplace Change including justification;
(3)
disclosure of any service or maintenance warranties or contracts
provided or required by the vendor (if any);
(4)
the number and type of jobs (both inside and outside the
bargaining unit) which would be impacted;
(5)
the anticipated impact on the skill requirements of the
workforce;
(6)
details of any training programs connected with the Workplace
Change (including duration, content and who will perform the training);
and
(7)
the expected impact on job content, method of work, safety and
health, training needs and the utilization of Outside Entities.
b.
Union representatives on the Plant Committee and the relevant
Area Committee may request and shall receive reasonable access to
Company personnel knowledgeable about any proposed Workplace Change in
order to review, discuss and receive follow-up information.
6.
Safeguards and Resources
a.
No entity created under this Section may amend or modify the
Basic Labor Agreement, recommend or effect the hiring or discipline of
any Employee or take any action with respect to contractual grievances.
b.
Service
on any entity created under this Section shall be voluntary, and no
Employee may be disciplined for lack of involvement or commitment to the
matters covered under this Section.
c.
Employee
participation or training contemplated in this Section shall normally
occur during normal work hours.
d.
At
the mutual invitation of the Co-Chairs of any committee created under
this Section, appropriate Union representatives and Company
representatives may attend a committee meeting.
e.
All meeting time and necessary and reasonable expenses associated
with any committee created under this Section shall be paid for by the
Company and Employees attending such meetings in accordance with
standard local plant understandings.
f.
Joint committees may mutually agree to employ experts from within
or outside the Company as consultants, advisors or instructors and such
experts shall be jointly selected and assigned.
g.
All Union participants involved in any and all joint activities
under this Section, or in any other joint committee involving members of
a Union bargaining unit, shall be chosen and removed from the process
exclusively by the relevant Local Union President/Unit Chair and the
Chair of the Union Negotiating Committee.
h.
All current improvement, involvement and joint programs will
be restructured to be consistent with this Section.
Following the Effective Date, new improvement programs involving
Employee participation may not be implemented without approval of the
Union
and, where implemented, shall operate in a manner consistent with this
Section.
i.
This Section shall in no way diminish the
Union
’s
collective bargaining rights regarding changes in technology and work
organization that impact Employees.
ARTICLE
SIX – JOINT EFFORTS
Section
B. Public Policy Activities
1.
The Company and
Union
hereby agree to
establish a jointly administered public policy fund (Public Policy Fund)
meeting the following guidelines.
a.
Purpose
and
Mission
:
The purpose of the Fund shall be to:
(1)
support public policies promoting the interests of the Company
and the Union on such subjects as health care, legacy costs,
international trade, currency valuation, and other public policy issues
of importance to the parties;
(2)
to contribute to and promote greater cooperation between labor
and management; and
(3)
to assist the Company and
Union
in solving problems
of mutual concern that are not susceptible to resolution through
collective bargaining.
b.
The Public Policy Fund will pursue its mission through
labor-management cooperative endeavors such as public and political
education, issue advocacy, research, and the coordination of such
activities with other like-minded groups.
c.
The Fund will have a six-person Governing Committee.
The Company representatives shall include the Chairman of the ISG
Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer of ISG, and one (or two
in the event the CEO is also the Chairman of the Board) other senior
officer(s) of the Company. The
Union representatives shall include the International President of the
USWA or his designee, the Secretary of the
Union
’s
Basic Steel Industry Conference and the USWA District Director serving
as the Chair of the Union Negotiating Committee.
d.
The Public Policy Fund will be financed as follows:
(1)
Initial Contribution: As
of the Effective Date, an initial accrual of $3.0 Million.
(2)
Per Ton Contribution: Commencing
on the Effective Date, $0.10
for each ton of steel shipped by the Company.
e.
All
activities of the Public Policy Fund shall be subject to approval by the
Governing Committee, provided that :
(1)
In the event that the Union members of the Governing Committee
propose that the Union or its designee take responsibility for any or
all aspects of the content, administration, delivery or implementation
of any programs or activities conducted under the auspices of the Fund,
the Company Members of the Governing Committee shall give recognition to
the special advantages that such Union responsibility would contribute
to such programs or activities, including but not limited to the
knowledge and experience of the Union, the familiarity of the Union with
target audiences, and the added credibility that Union responsibility
would add to such programs or activities.
(2)
The document creating the Governing Committee will contain a
procedure for the quick and binding resolution of any dispute over the
administration, delivery, or implementation of programs or activities
conducted under the auspices of the Fund.
f.
It is expected that 50% of the Per Ton Contribution shall be
allocated to Stand Up For Steel as described in paragraph 2 below;
provided however, that upon the reasonable request of the
Union
,
the allocation may be modified from time to time.
The parties will develop a report form to track accrued
obligations and expenditures on a regular basis.
2.
Stand Up For Steel
a.
The Company agrees to join the
Stand Up For Steel Labor/Management Committee (Stand Up For Steel)
effective on the Effective Date.
b.
The parties agree that Stand Up for
Steel will
serve as a focal point for industry-wide joint activities in combating
unfair trade in steel and related products and other subjects as agreed
to by the parties. The parties will continue to pursue other activities
separately as appropriate and the funding and structure contemplated
herein shall not be applicable to litigation to enforce the nation’s
trade laws.
c.
Stand Up For Steel will have a Governing Board consisting of an
equal number of
Union
and company representatives. The Board will be co-chaired by the
President of the USWA and a CEO selected by the participating companies.
d.
All activities conducted under the banner of Stand Up For Steel
shall be approved by the Governing Board.
e.
The parties will jointly recruit all American steel (carbon and
stainless) and iron ore companies and others to join the organization
under the terms described in this Section. The Company agrees to work
with the other participating companies so that the company
representatives on the Governing Board will represent the interests of
all participating companies.
In
this BLA, the parties have committed themselves to a number of joint
undertakings crucial to the success of the Company, its Employees and
the
Union
.
In recognition of the crucial role being served by the
Union
in accomplishing the joint goals of the parties, the parties agree as
follows:
1.
The Chair of the Union Negotiating Committee shall select and
direct ten (10) Contract Coordinators, who shall be responsible
throughout the Company for implementation and ongoing monitoring of
joint undertakings of mutual interest to the Company and the
Union
.
It is expected that Contract Coordinators will visit each of the
Company’s locations on a regular basis in the performance of their
duties.
2.
Each Contract Coordinator shall be an Employee of the Company.
The Contract Coordinator shall be compensated by the Company in the
amount of the appropriate wages, benefits and other fringe benefits s/he
would have earned during his/her normal course of employment with the
Company, but for this assignment. In addition, each Contract Coordinator
shall be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses including, but
not limited to, travel (coach airfare, hotel and per diem) incurred in
connection with this assignment and as reasonably agreed to by the
Company and the
Union
in advance of incurring such expense. In order to receive such lost time
payments and expense reimbursements, supporting vouchers must be
provided by the Contract Coordinator.
1.
The parties agree that within one-hundred eighty (180) days of
the Effective Date they shall jointly develop an Employee Orientation
Program which shall include the following:
a.
an introduction of plant Company officials, International Union
officials and Local Union representatives as may be appropriate;
b.
distribution and discussion of the BLA, including any relevant
local agreements;
c.
discussion of safety and health programs and safe working
procedures;
d.
presentation and discussion on labor-management participation,
problem solving, communications and the role of the
Union
and the workforce in quality and customer satisfaction;
e.
discussion of the history and achievements of the United Steelworkers
of America and the particular Local Union;
f.
discussion of the structure of the United Steelworkers of America
and the particular Local Union and the services that are provided by the
various offices and committees;
g.
presentation on the history of the Company and plant;
h.
review of the markets in which the Company participates, the
products produced and the customers serviced; and
i.
discussion of the structure of the Company, the plant
organization and the functions and services that are provided by the
various departments.
2.
This program shall be jointly presented, on Company time, to each
Employee of the Company during the one (1) year period following the
Effective Date and to each Employee hired thereafter within their
probationary period. The
Union
will be allotted a
portion of the program to address the Employees.
3.
All costs associated with developing this Program shall be borne
by the Company.
4.
In addition the Company shall compensate each Employee at their
Regular Rate of Pay, within the same timeframe as the joint orientation
described above, to attend an orientation session conducted by the
Contract Coordinators at a location designated by the
Union
.
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