The Nation - News from June 1, 1986

The United Steelworkers of America rejected an offer from Alcoa and Reynolds, hours before the expiration of contracts covering 10,000 of the companies’ employees. A spokesman for the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers International, negotiating separately for 14,000 aluminum workers, predicted that his union also would reject the offer. Negotiations began in Atlanta in early May. A New York industry analyst said aluminum workers average $24 an hour in wages and fringe benefits. “The aluminum industry has cut costs everywhere they could in the last two years,” he said. “This is their one and only chance to reduce labor costs.”