An administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board has ordered that the Kaiser Aluminum Corporation provide back pay to 2,900 workers whom it locked out in the aftermath of a strike. The workers' union estimates the total amount at no less than $180 million, a sum that federal officials say would be by far the largest back-pay award in the labor board's 67-year history.þþKaiser is now in bankruptcy reorganization, and it is unclear whether it would ever be able to pay a judgment that large. In any event, the company said yesterday that it would appeal the decision to the full board.þþThe roots of the case date from September 1998, when the United Steelworkers of America struck Kaiser. After four months, the workers relented and agreed to return before a new contract was negotiated. But Kaiser locked workers out of five plants: two near Spokane, Wash.; one in Tacoma, Wash.; one in Newark, Ohio; and one in Gramercy, La. Those 2,900 employees remained locked out for 20 months, until a new five-year agreement was reached in the fall of 2000.þþLockouts are often legal. But in his decision, issued last Friday and made public yesterday, the administrative law judge, Michael Stevenson, ruled that this one was illegal, for several reasons. For example, he said, the company made a wage offer that was so vague the union could never have been expected to accept it. He also ruled that Kaiser had improperly sought to force the union to break up its unit that bargained for members at a variety of locations.þþJudge Stevenson, based in Oakland, Calif., said Kaiser should pay back wages calculated from the time the lockout began until the workers returned to work, minus the amount they earned in other jobs. David Foster, the union's top official for the Northwest, estimated that amount at $180 million to $200 million. ÿI'm stunned by the magnitude of this decision,ÿ he said. þþJack A. Hockema, Kaiser's chief executive, said: ÿWe disagree with the decision of the judge and look forward to vigorous pursuit of an appeal. We remain confident that our position will ultimately be upheld.ÿþþþþ
Source: NY Times
