Safety dispute slows production at Indiana steel mill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 24, 2013 8:16AM
BURNS HARBOR, Ind. — A safety dispute involving workers at a northwestern Indiana steel mill has slowed its steel production because some union workers refuse to work under what they call unsafe conditions.
The dispute began Sunday when 10 workers at ArcelorMittal’s Burns Harbor mill invoked their contract rights and refused to work any longer at a slab caster that uses molten steel.
United Steelworkers Local 6787 grievance committee chairman John Moloney says the union members fear “certain parts of the process could go wrong and cause an explosion.”
ArcelorMittal spokeswoman Mary Beth Holdford said recent upgrades at the mill have computerized many of the functions previously done manually by the workforce. She says the health and safety of the mill’s workers are the company’s top priority.
