Bruce Workers End Strike

Beverly, WV, May 2--Workers at Bruce Hardwood Flooring in Randolph County voted to accept the company’s new contract offer Thursday afternoon, ending a strike that began Sunday evening at the plant in Beverly, near Elkins. In a secret ballot, members of Teamsters Local 175 voted, 477 to 86, in favor of the company’s second contract offer. The strike began after they turned down an earlier contract offer, 471 to 82. “It was clear from the beginning of the strike that the major issues were medical and prescription costs,” said Ken Hall, president of Local 175. “We went back into bargaining [Wednesday] at the request of a federal mediator. We reached an agreement shortly before 5 o’clock [Wednesday] afternoon and voted on the agreement today,” Hall said. Bruce Hardwoods, a subsidiary of Armstrong World Industries based in Lancaster, Pa., processes rough lumber into finished hardwood flooring at the plant in Beverly, near Elkins. The company’s customers include Home Depot, Lowe’s and individual homeowners. “We are pleased that a labor agreement has been reached and that there has been no interruption of services to our customers,” said Dorothy Brown Smith, Armstrong’s director of corporate communications. The Beverly plant is one of the nation’s biggest hardwood flooring operations and the most modern hardwood flooring plant owned by Armstrong. It opened in 1990 and was organized by the Teamsters in August 1999. The company and union signed their first three-year contract in April 2000. Hall said Bruce Hardwoods “originally insisted on a new prescription plan that would have reduced benefits substantially. The company also wanted workers to pay up to $27 a month more for their health insurance over the new three-year contract.” The new contract provides hourly wage increases of 30 cents the first year, 35 cents the second year and 40 cents the third year. The first contract offer included wage increases of 27 cents, 33 cents and 34 cents for those three years. The company originally wanted to increase employee co-payments for prescription drugs up to $150 for each prescription. The new contract will keep the current prescription plan that requires no co-payments for generic pharmaceuticals and co-payments up to $20 for some drugs purchased across the counter. The company originally wanted to charge employees $27 a month more for family health coverage. The new contract increases payments by $10 a month over three years. Bruce Hardwoods has 700 union employees and operates three shifts a day. “We are happy that we were able to resolve this,” Hall said. “Community support was absolutely tremendous. Had we not been able to reach an agreement yesterday, this strike would have become a very long strike.” Hall praised company negotiators and Dennis Celenica, a federal mediator based in Parkersburg. The vote to approve the contract was announced shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday. The company plans to return to full production Sunday night.