February 27 will mark the end of a fourth month of a lock-out for a group of 160 union workers — and the anticipated beginning of a fifth month. The workers are members of Glass Molders Local 63B who worked at Progress Casting in Plymouth.
Progress Casting locked out the workers October 27 after they chose not to vote on a concessionary contract proposal and decided instead to keep on working. Subsequent negotiations with the company did not reach a settlement.
As the Labor Review went to press, Local 63B had scheduled another attempt at negotiations with the company for February 26, to be followed by an informational meeting with 63B members the following day.
Greg Sticha, Local 63B financial secretary-treasurer, said the workers “are trying to hold on thinking this thing is going to be resolved and they’ll get their jobs back.”
The workers have been collecting unemployment but their six months of eligibility could run out in April. Sticha said the newly-enacted federal economic stimulus package may provide the locked-out workers with an extension of unemployment benefits. “We’re trying to keep our members informed,” he said.
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