Wabtec-union negotiations set to begin; both sides hopeful about talks

Wabtec, Erie's largest industrial employer, and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, head to the bargaining table Thursday with the hope that history won't repeat itself.

Erie's locomotive plant, which did business under the General Electric banner for more than a century, got off to a rough start after Wabtec purchased the company in February 2019.

Within days, the company's union workforce of 1,700 was walking the picket line outside the former GE Transportation plant after the company and the union were unable to reach an agreement on an initial contract.

The company called it a strike. The union called it a walkout, an assessment that won the support of the state of Pennsylvania, at least for purpose of paying unemployment.

Either way, production at the plant ground to a near-halt for nine days as union workers circled the plant in a massive show of force.

Scott Slawson, who has been the president of Local 506 since 2014, said he's hopeful the union and the company can come to an agreement before the June 9 deadline without a work stoppage.

Slawson, who led what was described as one of the nation's largest industrial strikes in several years, won't make an absolute promise that a strike couldn't happen again. But he expressed optimism in a recent interview with the Erie Times-News.

"I am hoping for a very productive negotiation," Slawson said. "We would never enter into negotiations with the intent of a lockout or strike. If you think that is what is going to happen, you are approaching it all wrong."

Prior to the 2019 strike, there had not been a major work stoppage at Erie's locomotive plant for 50 years. Slawson said a UE strike in 1969 lasted 102 days.

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The threat of the strike is a powerful tool, one that Slawson doesn't intend to surrender before talks have begun.

"Our No. 1 goal is to get a contract," he said. "But there is a reason they call it a struggle. If you think things aren't going satisfactorily, at some point withholding your labor is always a real possibility."

More time to talk

The window to negotiate is far longer than during the days when the Lawrence Park Township plant was owned by GE Transportation. Back then, the company and the union allowed about three weeks to come to an agreement.

Slawson said the company has a shorter history with Wabtec and expects talks will likely take longer.

A couple of negotiating sessions already are on the calendar. More will be added as things develop, Slawson said.

The 2019 agreement

Going into the most recent negotiations, the Pittsburgh-based company was firm in its demand for a two-tier wage structure that would pay lower wages — competitive wages, to use the company's terminology — to new employees.

The union, meanwhile, sought to maintain what was then an average hourly wage of $35.

More:Wabtec wins major locomotive order; what will it mean for workers in Erie?

Negotiations ended with a compromise. New employees would be paid an average of $22 an hour. But Wabtec agreed that new hires would be able to gradually increase their wages over a 10-year period until they were on par with so-called legacy employees.

A national worker shortage and substantial increase in wages nationally promise to make pay rates an issue in this negotiation.

Slawson called it a high point that the company has been hiring hourly workers to meet rising demand. But hiring new workers isn't as easy as it once was, he said.

"There is some realization that it is difficult to attract workers when you are not paying the correct wages," he said. "I will also tell you that our attrition rate among new hires is much higher than it has ever been before. There has got to be some discord with the guy I am working next to, and doing the same job, but I am making $10 or $12 less an hour."

The union seems likely to offer as context a contract signed in March by unionized workers at Caterpillar Inc., one of Wabtec's key competitors.

The new contract, which covers 7,000 employees, includes a $6,000 ratification bonus, a 7% immediate pay raise and 4% wage increases for each of the next three years. The contract also provides for two 4% lump-sum payments during the life of the agreement, according to The Associated Press.

Other issues

Money isn't the only important issue.

Slawson said he's happy with the contract the union ratified nearly four years ago. But some of the language, particularly around work rules and temporary transfers of work from one department to another, has led the union to file numerous grievances, some of which have gone to arbitration, Slawson said.

More:Wabtec and Erie union in federal court over arbitration ruling

Slawson said he's confident both sides will want to clarify some of that language.

The company will likely be focused on some of those same issues but from a different perspective.

"Through these negotiations, it is important to build upon the momentum we have established," Tim Bader, a spokesman for Wabtec, said in a statement in response to the Erie Times-News. "Erie’s flexibility and cost competitiveness are a shared responsibility."

The shadow of 2019

Do bad feelings remain from the 2019 strike that might make negotiations more difficult?

"I would say old feelings never go away when you are dealing with something like a strike," Slawson said. "But I would also say we have found ways to communicate and work with each other. I don't expect either side to be affected by the strike."

Bader offered a positive outlook when asked about the upcoming talks.

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“The upcoming negotiations provide an excellent opportunity for the company and the union to work together on positioning the business, our employees and the site for long-term success," he said. "Under the current contract, we have experienced performance improvements as evidenced by the 245 recalled employees and 240 new hires in Erie since 2019. While our production employment of approximately 1,400 is below the level from 2019, we are proud of the improvements we have made over the past 4 years."

Slawson shares the company's enthusiasm for the number of employees who have been hired after union employment bottomed at around 1,000 employers.

He said the union also has been an enthusiastic supporter of the company as it moves toward a greener future based on hybrid technology.

"We are moving in the right direction and support the fact that we need to build better, cleaner locomotives," he said.

Whatever the company builds, Slawson said negotiations begin with the understanding that the company needs to be successful.

"At the end of the day, we are all here to work. We are all here for a job. If Wabtec doesn't succeed, we don't have a job. There is no one in the union who doesn't understand that."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.