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Teamsters to Cytec: Stop This Dangerous Lockout
(GREENVILLE, Texas) – On Friday, Nov. 7, Teamsters distributed leaflets at a Cytec Aerospace [NYSE: CYT] job fair to educate the community about Cytec’s destructive behavior.
Since August 24, Cytec has locked out more than 200 skilled local workers without pay after the workers protested Cytec’s plans to freeze their pensions, significantly increase their health care costs, and cut retiree health care for new hires. Cytec also stopped paying workers’ family health care premiums.
In Greenville, Cytec’s employees – many of whom are military veterans and women – are highly trained to work with toxic chemicals. On Friday, Oct. 31, with unskilled replacement workers running the plant, a volatile heat reaction erupted after Cytec was unable to control the chemical manufacturing process.
And in 2012, Cytec was fined $18,000 by the EPA for exceeding legal limits of methanol and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, which are toxic chemicals that can cause reproductive harm or birth defects. Teamsters Local 745 represents almost 200 of the locked-out workers.
“We don’t understand why Cytec would risk scaring away its aerospace and defense customers. With the lockout, the dangerous fire, and the refusal to negotiate a fair contract with its workers, Cytec is putting the Greenville economy, our community and its investors at risk,” said Teamsters Local 745 Secretary-Treasurer Brent Taylor.
“None of this abusive behavior makes sense. Cytec just negotiated a fair contract with a good pension plan for its workers in California,” said 28-year Cytec worker Heath Brown. “All we ask is that Cytec extend the same courtesy to its workers in Texas. We are very proud of the high-quality work we do for Lockheed Martin, the United States military, and Cytec’s other customers.”
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.