United Steelworkers union members have approved a new three-year labor agreement with Asarco, securing wage increases and benefit improvements years after negotiations began in 2018.
“The new labor agreement provides unprecedented wage increases to a broad spectrum of jobs, from laborers to operators to diesel-electric technicians — raising some rates by as much as 27%,” said USW District 12 Director Gaylan Prescott in a news release.
Additionally, the inclusion of new skills and qualifications, such as advanced welding credentials and earth moving machinery, will provide opportunities for higher earnings, the release said.
Workers are also gaining more time off through the agreement and reduced health care contributions.
On the safety front, the contract ensures that “fatigue monitoring systems” are used to make work safer and not simply more supervised, the news release said.
The agreement, which went into effect June 1, covers more than 500 bargaining unit members at Asarco’s Ray Mine and Hayden smelter locations in Arizona, as well as a facility in Amarillo, Texas.
“After many years of fighting, we have achieved fairness and justice for Asarco workers,” said Prescott, who chaired the Unified Bargaining Committee. “Our jobs will be safer, pay better and benefits more secure.”
Asarco, which is owned by Grupo Mexico, also operates the Mission Mine in Sahuarita and the Silver Bell Mine near Marana.
USW represents 850,000 workers employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in tech, public sector and service occupations.
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