World Kitchen workers reject pact
Exiting the former Corning Glass Credit Union Friday afternoon after casting his vote, Dan Niccolai called the new contract offer from World Kitchen, “an insult.”
“This membership sacrificed a lot for this company,” said Niccolai of Charleroi, a 32-year employee.
“The membership doesn’t want this. The reason people want to work here is because of the good benefits. We gave up raises to keep our insurance plan.”
The rank and file, members of United Steelworkers Local 53G, overwhelmingly rejected the contract which employees claimed the company had termed “the last best offer.”
The union represents 320 active employees at the glass plant.
A five-year contract covering 320 workers expired March 1. The company proposed the contract terms a few weeks ago, but the union negotiating team rejected them, Charleroi Mayor Terry Newstrom told council Thursday night. Newstrom, an employee at the plant, said World Kitchen then forced a union vote on the pact.
A spokesperson for World Kitchen said the company would not comment on the contract vote. James Watt, staff representative for the USW, declined comment as well.
“No organized labor would agree to this,” said Thomas Bongiorno of Washington Township, a 16-year veteran of the plant.
“These people are crazy. All of the money they are making at this plant and they come at us with this. It makes no sense.”
Rob Byrne and his wife, Danielle, have been working at the glass plant 27 and 26 years respectively. They said workers gave up holiday pay and a year of seniority to keep their medical plan. She said employees have gone 10 years without raises to maintain that plan.
“We have a Cadillac plan now and they want us to go to 80/20 with $3,000 deductible for individuals or $6,000 for families,” said Danielle Byrne, who was wearing a walking boot.
“I just had surgery. What would I have done?”
Glassmaking has been a staple of Charleroi’s economy for 123 years. The plant was built in 1893 as Macbeth Glass and became Macbeth-Evans two years later when the plant merged with Thomas Evans and Co.
Corning Glass purchased the Charleroi plant in 1936. World Kitchen took over in 1998.
The labor strife comes a year after Charleroi rolled out the red carpet for World Kitchen officials to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Pyrex brand, made exclusively in the U.S. in Charleroi.