BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Union employees at Stillwater Mining Co. leaders are voting Monday on a tentative labor agreement that could end a near weeklong strike.þþNo details of the new agreement were included in a joint statement released Saturday by mine officials and representatives of the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International union local 8-0001.þþA vote was scheduled Monday, with the polls to close at 9 p.m. MDT.þþIf the contract is ratified, employees will return to work on Wednesday, according to the statement.þþWorkers from the company's Stillwater Mine near Nye, Mont., and processing facilities at Columbus went on strike last Monday -- action that followed the rejection of a tentative labor agreement. Union leaders have said retirement benefits are a leading concern among workers.þþThe strike has affected between 850 and 900 workers at the mine and processing facilities.þþOn June 30, company and union officials announced a tentative labor agreement had been reached, subject to member ratification. Workers rejected that agreement, and an extension of the previous contract expired last Monday.þþStillwater Mining is the only U.S. producer of platinum and palladium, a metal used extensively by the automotive industry.þþ
Source: NY Times
