Constellium makes new offer to Ravenswood steelworkers

Constellium made another contract offer Wednesday in an attempt to end a month-long strike at its aluminum plant in Jackson County, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said.

The new offer came following an afternoon of negotiations at the governor's mansion in Charleston. But the offer's details and fate were unclear Wednesday night.

Company and union officials did not return calls and emails or declined to comment.

Since early August, 700 members of United Steelworkers Local 5668 have been on strike at the rolled aluminum plant in Ravenswood. The two sides had not sat down at the bargaining table since the strike began.

Tomblin organized Wednesday's meeting, which was attended by company and union negotiators, two federal labor mediators and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.

"I do believe progress was made today," Tomblin said in a statement Wednesday evening following a long afternoon of talks. "At this point, the company has provided a revised offer to resolve the contract dispute and end the work stoppage. That offer now lies in the hands of the local union representative committee."

The company and union are at odds over a new collective bargaining agreement that would change workers' health insurance benefits.

The union has called that company spin. Workers make about $19 an hour but that's less than the hourly wages for workers at similar plants in the country. The union has said it's made "large concessions" in wages to keep a good health plan.

A Constellium spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday night the company made a new offer but declined to comment further.

Now, union members who were making good money are being forced to seek unemployment benefits, which they may not get.

To get health insurance while on strike, many are being forced to buy expensive COBRA benefits, which are government insurance plans of last resort for the recently jobless.

Shortly after the strike, there were some indications at least a few union members were unhappy with the strike. They said they had not been able to vote on a final offer Constellium made the day before the strike.

Union leadership said union members had overwhelmingly taken a strike vote the week before the company made its final offer. At the time, the members took a vote of confidence in the union negotiating committee and indicated they did not want the committee to bring back another offer that changed their health care benefits, union leadership said.

By late August, about 570 striking employees from Constellium had applied for unemployment benefits.

Constellium is jointly owned by investment fund Apollo Management Group, Australian-based mining company Rio Tinto Alcan and Fonds Strategique d'Investissement, a sovereign wealth fund operated by the French government.