Master Lock union workers to protest proposed contract

Scott Paulus

Master Lock workers will protest the company's proposed labor contract during an informational picket Friday.

Master Lock Co. union members are planning an informational picket near the company?s Milwaukee plant Friday to protest what they consider an unfair labor contract proposal from company management, according to a Thursday press release.

About 350 members of United Auto Workers Local 469 are working at Master Lock without a contract, while both sides meet with a federal mediator, the union said.

The previous contract expired March 31 and was extended to April 3.

The union said it is not on strike and is not asking anyone to stop doing business with Master Lock.

The local union said the company has ?demanded the elimination of retirement benefits for active workers? and proposed shifting more health care costs to those workers. The company?s proposal also includes what the union considers an ?unfair? two-tier benefits structure and inadequate wage increases. Workers voted down those terms.

The company has also told retirees it is considering altering or terminating their health and life insurance benefits, the union said.

A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment.

?We want an agreement and our members have consistently worked with Master Lock to help the company be successful,? said UAW Local 469 president Mike Bink. ?We were there during those hard times. We sacrificed. Our members are people who just want to share in the company?s success and be able to retire with dignity. We have earned that. Anything less is simply wrong for workers, wrong for families and wrong for the community.?

Master Lock is owned by Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands Home & Security (NYSE: FBHS). In its most recent quarter, the division that includes Master Lock saw net sales decrease 4 percent year-over-year. The parent company posted a profit of $18.4 million, or 11 cents per share, on $947.9 million in sales, an 8 percent year-over-year increase.

Jeff Engel is The Business Journal's reporter covering the manufacturing industry and technology.

Source: http://feeds.bizjournals.com/~r/bizj_milwaukee/~3/pQrfYU0w2_w/master-lock-union-workers-to-protest.html

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