Aug. 11--James Price has two children in high school he plans to send to college in the next few years.
But supporting his Asarco co-workers in their strike against the company has complicated his savings plans and made life more difficult for Price, 53, who depends on two rental homes to supplement his income.
"It's been rough," Price said while on the picket line Wednesday as several motorists driving by the plant along Texas Highway 136 honked their support of the strikers.
When Price arrived at the picket line, he learned there will be one more complication in his life: Asarco, the copper-mining company where he has worked for 26 years, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday amid high copper prices and a labor dispute.
"I don't think there is any need to declare bankruptcy for any reason," Price said.
Because of his struggle through the strike and now the surprising bankruptcy, Price has plans to look for another job when he finishes work on one of his rental houses, he said.
"It will be the first time in 26 years," Price said.
The bankruptcy filing comes more than a month after 1,500 Asarco workers in Amarillo and the company's Tucson, Ariz., facility went on strike in early July, alleging the company conducts unfair labor practices, claims that the company denies.
Employees went on strike after working without a contract for a year.
Workers at the picket line Wednesday said the bankruptcy filing didn't make any sense, especially in light of high copper prices and the Asarco's recent financial performance in 2005.
Asarco's net income was $9 million during the second quarter of 2005 and $11.12 million for the first six months of the year, reported Grupo Mexico, Asarco's parent company.
"People making money shouldn't file for bankruptcy," said Wayne Woods, 53, who also has worked for the company for 26 years.
Company officials attributed the bankruptcy filing to historical asbestos and environmental liability, high-cost pension and benefit plans, the current labor strike and the downgrading of the company's debt rating. Those factors have led the company to have the highest cost operations in the copper industry, according to the Asarco statement.
Although workers on the picket line Wednesday were hopeful about weekend negotiations between the United Steelworkers Local 5613 and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 602 and the company, Chuck Flanagan, 50, said he couldn't a believe a company that he has worked at for 17 years filed for bankruptcy.
"It's an uncomfortable feeling knowing that the company you have invested your time with has lowered themselves to this," Flanagan said. "With the time I got with Asarco, I've got to more or less wait it out."
But life on the picket line, compounded by the bankruptcy news, has made life more difficult for Asarco workers, Woods said.
"It's been pretty hard to make the bills each month," said Woods, adding the workers have been lining up part-time jobs and have been receiving a small amount of money from the union while on the picket line during the strike. "Right now I am just going day to day."
Still, if no progress with the company is made, Woods said, he could be looking for another job, something terrifying for someone his age.
"After 26 years of doing this, it will be hard to find another job," said Woods, who is thinking about learning another trade. "But we are hoping that it will work out so we can go back to work with a contract."
-----
To see more of the Amarillo Globe-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.amarillonet.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, Amarillo Globe-News, Texas
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
GMBXF,
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=205478
Published: 2005/08/12 00:00:38 CDT
© Rednova 2004
No comments:
Post a Comment