News From USW: Meridian Could Be Slapped with Steelworkers’ Back-Pay Claim

COLUMBUS, Ohio--News From USW: The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that it has filed a complaint against Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc. in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio because the company violated the federal Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act when it did not provide adequate notice to its USW-represented workforce before laying them off permanently.

The complaint, filed officially on Oct. 19, 2007, carries with it a potential back-pay liability to the members of USW Local 820L who lost their jobs when the company ceased production at its Jackson, Ohio operation in late August.

“Meridian has not lived up to its moral, legal or financial obligations in Jackson – not to our members and certainly not to the community,” said USW District 1 Director David McCall. “We are committed to justice for our members in this case and will not stop fighting until we have achieved it.”

The union has also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Meridian with Region 9 of the National Labor Relations Board for failing to recall its union workforce after a lockout, which ended when the members of Local 820L ratified a contract offer from Meridian on July 30, 2007.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in the United States and Canada employed in the metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and other industries as well as the service and public sectors.