Labor board to draft complaint against Asarco - Amarillo Globe-News
(TX) - September 28, 2005
September 28, 2005   Amarillo Globe-News (TX)   Cheryl Berzanskis

A representative of the National Labor Relations Board said the agency is drafting a complaint
against Asarco in response to unfair labor practice charges leveled by striking unions.
Rick Smith, an NLRB attorney information officer for Region 28 in Phoenix, said the complaint may
be issued Friday.
"T he region is going to try to settle the matter. If (Asarco) doesn't sign the settlement offer, then
the complaint will issue not later than close of business Friday," Smith said.
"Whether the regional director is going to allege it's an unfair labor practice strike, I don't know. We
won't know until Friday," he said.
Without a settlement agreement, the matter goes to an administrative law judge who decides
whether ULP charges hold.
Appeals procedures are also in place.
T he strike started in Asarco's Arizona properties and spread to the Amarillo Copper Refinery on July
6.
Fifteen hundred union members, including some 271 who work at the Amarillo Copper Refinery,
maintained from the beginning they are engaged in an unfair labor practices strike.
T he company denied ULP charges earlier and did not return calls on T uesday.
Local members of United Steelworkers Local 5613 are confident NLRB will declare the strike a ULP
strike.
"ULP's important to us because they cannot hire permanent replacements," said Les Huntington,
president of Local 5613.
Steelworkers are the lead union in negotiations that started last year.
T he company, which has also filed for bankruptcy protection, announced Sept. 14 that it will hire
replacement workers at its properties. Huntington said he has not seen new employees enter the
plant.
"At this point the ACR (Amarillo Copper Refinery) is scab-free," he said.

 Key Issue
On its Web site, the N ational Labor Relations B oard says strikers protesting unf air labor
practices cannot be fired or permanently replaced. When the strike ends, strikers, unless they have
engaged in serious misconduct, are entitled to their jobs even if replacement workers have to be
discharged.
Asarco T imeline
July 2: Asarco LLC's Ray Mine in Kearney, Ariz., goes on strike.
July 6: More than half of Asarco's Amarillo Copper Refinery's work force goes on strike after
working more than a year without a contract. T hey join about 1,300 other unionized Asarco
employees striking in Arizona. T he company denies the charges.
Aug. 10: Asarco copper refinery files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Aug. 23: Asarco makes a 12-month contract offer to striking employees. T he contract would let
them return to work under the same wages they had when they walked off the job.
Sept. 14: Asarco announces it will begin hiring people to replace striking hourly workers.
Copyrig ht 2005 Amarillo Globe-News