PACE International Union Files Additional Federal Complaints Against French Corporation Imerys for Labor Abuses; Asks U.S. State Department to Intervene

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 18, 2004 -- Local 3-516 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union ("PACE") filed an additional charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of the U.S. government alleging six new violations of federal law by Imerys, a company headquartered in France and traded on the Paris stock exchange, at its Sylacauga, Ala., facility. PACE also requested that the U.S. Department of State intervene in the dispute to insure Imerys' compliance with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are principles of corporate conduct adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD is comprised of 30 industrialized nations. Among the guidelines are provisions encouraging multinational businesses to respect employees' freedom to unionize and recognition of rights and benefits won in collective bargaining. Countries which adhere to the guidelines, including the United States and France, have established national contact points as liaisons to promote compliance with the guidelines and respond to inquiries regarding violations of the guidelines.

PACE has requested the intervention of the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs of the U. S. Department of State, the national contact point in the United States for OECD compliance. PACE advised the State Department of the complaints filed against Imerys with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and requested that the department intervene on behalf of the Sylacauga employees with Imerys and with the national contact point of the French government.

The new NLRB charge is the tenth filed by PACE against Imerys since April. Among the new alleged violations are that Imerys has failed to bargain in good faith with PACE over scheduling and training; has disciplined employees and union officials for initiating complaints with management, and fired Local 3- 0516 Chief Steward Anthony Williams because of his union activities.

The NLRB, acting on behalf of the U.S. government, has already issued formal complaints against Imerys in three of the cases filed by PACE. The formal complaints issued by the U.S. government allege that Imerys illegally advised employees to abandon their union and promised benefits to employees if they would do so; threatened employees if they made complaints under the parties' grievance procedure; and withheld information requested by the union in the grievance procedure. The other charges are still being investigated by the NLRB's Birmingham office.

PACE won two elections at the Sylacauga facility in the last four years, the most recent in January 2004 when the employees voted by a margin of 2-1 to keep the union as their bargaining representative. In March 2004 the union and company reached a new three-year contract, setting pay, benefits and other working conditions at the facility.

"We believe that the company is using these tactics in order to get rid of the union, and silence those of us who support it," said Local 3-516 President Keith Fulbright. According to Fulbright, "After we won the election in January and were able to agree on a new contract, we thought we had reached the point where management would work with us to make Imerys a better company. Instead, management is going backwards, and employees who speak out are being harassed and intimidated."

PACE ran a global campaign against Imerys starting in 1999 after the company withdrew recognition from the union. "Obtaining support from French, Belgium and British unions representing workers in Europe was critical in forcing Imerys to finally recognize the legitimate right of workers to organize a union in the U.S.," said PACE Region Five Vice President Don Langham. "We had to take the issue directly to shareholders at Imerys's annual meeting in Paris, and we are fully prepared to do it again."

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), a global union federation made up of union affiliates with 22 million members, played a key role in stopping Imerys' efforts to destroy the union in Alabama. ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs, who was instrumental in negotiating an end to hostilities between Imerys and PACE in 2001, said, "We are shocked that Imerys has not ended its anti-union behavior in the U.S. and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to stop Imerys from destroying the union in Alabama."

PACE is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and represents 275,000 workers in the paper, oil, chemical, industrial minerals, automotive, and atomic energy sectors in the U.S. and Canada. PACE has joined in a strategic alliance with the 600,000-member United Steelworkers of America, in which both unions are pledged to work together and share resources.