News From USW: USW Questions Meridian's Commitment to Customers; Illegal Lockout, Use of Inexperienced Replacements Condemned

JACKSON, Ohio--May 30, 2006--The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that the Union has contacted customers of Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc., where over 300 members of USW Local 820L were illegally locked out on April 21, 2006 and replaced with salaried personnel and inexperienced temporary strikebreakers.

The Union has invited executives from Volvo Truck, Sterling Trucks, Kenworth, Peterbilt and other major customers to discuss potential problems with products now coming out of the Jackson plant and has urged them to notify Meridian that they support returning the locked-out workforce to their rightful jobs.

USW District 1 Director Dave McCall said that based on Meridian's filings in bankruptcy court, the company expects the Jackson plant to be very profitable over the next several years, but negotiators for the company have prolonged the lockout by insisting on major concessions from the USW without any real justification.

"After years of hard work and sacrifice to establish a reputation for dependability and quality at the Jackson plant, the USW believes that these workers and Meridian's customers deserve better," said McCall. "The USW is frustrated that this lockout may threaten to destroy the longstanding business relationships that, in many ways, were built upon our members' dedication to excellence."

McCall pointed out that Meridian appears to have already started moving equipment out of the Jackson plant and that many of the company's replacement workers are known to be in this country illegally.