BETTENDORF, Iowa — Editor's note: The video above is from May 15.
A ratification vote on the new contract between the United Steelworkers Union and Arconic will be held June 1 from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Waterfront Convention Center, according to an official press release from the union.
USW said contract informational meetings will be held at Union Hall on the following dates and times:
- Thursday, May 19 — Informational meetings to be held at the conclusion of each business meeting
- Friday, May 20 — Noon and 2 p.m.
- Monday, May 23 — 6:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The release comes just days after a tentative contract agreement was reached between Arconic and USW following a rally by union workers at the company's front doors on Saturday.
In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, USW Local 105 said the four-year tentative deal includes: a 7% raise in the first year, followed by a 4.5% raise in the next three years and a 20.5% wage increase for Union workers by the end of the contract.
The deal did not include any changes to health care benefits, but does include improved retirement and added Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. An additional $4,000 in signing bonuses for union workers was also included in the deal — $2,000 upon signing and $2,000 in January 2023.
"The hourly wage increases are to make up for the termination," Local 105 wrote Sunday on Facebook. "Wages are something we can count on in overtime and our vacation rate. We could never depend on PFP which is variable pay, to pay out. We can depend on our wages."
News 8 received the following statement from an Arconic spokesperson following Saturday's tentative agreement:
“We are pleased that Arconic and the United Steelworkers have reached a four year tentative agreement. We believe this agreement accomplishes our goal of rewarding our employees for their commitment as essential workers while enabling our business to grow for future sustainability.”
USW and Arconic have been negotiating a new contract since April 26 in Pittsburgh, according to Local 105 union leader Lee Shaffer.
On May 12, union workers overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a strike had a tentative agreement not been reached by the noon deadline on May 15.