Contract Negotiation Fails to End Two-Year Lockout at Continental Carbon In Oklahoma

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 30 -- The Paper, Allied-Industrial and Chemical Workers International Union (PACE) reported today that contract negotiations yesterday failed to end an almost two-year lockout of 86 union employees at Continental Carbon in Ponca City, Oklahoma. The lockout represents the longest labor dispute in the history of Oklahoma.

"The company has continued to insist on proposals that no union in the U.S. could ever accept, which demonstrates the company's lack of interest in a settlement," said Ernie Anderson, PACE's chief negotiator and international representative.

According to Anderson, Continental Carbon's negotiators want union members to serve as contractors and bid against non-union firms for routine maintenance. "The company even insists that the union bids must be 30% lower than other bids for union workers to perform the maintenance work," said Anderson.

"We believe that Taiwanese-owned Continental Carbon's aim is to eventually reduce workers' rights, wages and benefits to levels experienced by non-union workers in communist China where its parent company has operations," said Todd Carlson, bargaining unit chairperson of PACE local 5-857.

Continental Carbon, headquartered in Houston, has been cited by the National Labor Relations Board for labor law violations and has been the target of several environmental lawsuits. Goodyear, one of the company's largest customers, no longer purchases carbon black, a bonding and filler material used in the manufacture of tires, from Continental Carbon.

PACE has warned customers, particularly tire manufacturers, of the danger of using carbon black from Ponca City where less-experienced replacement workers and overworked managers have attempted to produce high quality carbon black. PACE has stated repeatedly, based on research from tire experts, that defective or contaminated carbon black can cause tread separation in tires. Some of Continental Carbon's customers, such as Bridgestone Firestone and Cooper, have been subjects of lawsuits for defective tires that allegedly caused serious injuries and fatalities.

Continental Carbon is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Synthetic Rubber Company and Taiwan Cement which are controlled by the Koo family of Taiwan, which is one of Taiwan's wealthiest families. The Koo family also controls China Trust Bank which has branch offices in New York and California and is a major lender to Continental Carbon.

PACE represents 320,000 workers in the paper, oil, chemical, automotive parts, industrial minerals, atomic energy and cement industries. More information on the labor dispute can be found at www.fightbackonline and www.paceunion.org