Workers Again Picket 2 Plants in Union Drive

More than two dozen workers trying to unionize two Moorpark ironworks picketed the companies for the second consecutive day Tuesday after walking out earlier in the week.

Picketers said they were locked out of their jobs at Red Iron Fabricators and Embassy Ironworks Co. after they informed the owner of the plants of their intent to unionize as a chapter of the International Assn. of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers.

Workers sported union caps and carried picket signs accusing the companies of unfair labor practices as they paced outside the front entrance of the plants on Los Angeles Avenue. The plants produce structural steel for buildings and wrought-iron for fences and staircases.

Mike Mares, 26, of Oxnard, a wrought-iron fabricator with Embassy Ironworks, said most of the 30 workers employed at the plants decided to walk out after a wage and benefits dispute with Steve Patton, the owner of the companies.

Welders and fabricators with Embassy Ironworks lack medical and unemployment benefits and sick pay, benefits received by those employed at Red Iron, Mares said.

“When we get sick, we have to pay out of our own pockets,” Mares said. “We told them, at least give us benefits.”

Other workers complained of wage scales that left some workers with lower hourly salaries than others.

They and union representatives have demanded a contract that promises equal pay for both companies as well as comparable benefits, Mares said.

Owner Patton said labor problems at the plants erupted only in the past week. Workers did not inform Patton of their labor demands until Monday, when union representatives accompanied the workers to the plant, he said. A union representative was not available for comment.

Patton said he was surprised by the group’s decision to unionize, saying some Embassy Ironworks employees earn as much as $1,000 a week. Average hourly wages on the Red Iron side range up to $17.50 an hour, he said.

“They have all made really good money,” he said. “I’ve treated these men very fairly.”

Five years ago, some of Patton’s employees who worked with him at his old company, Patton Iron Works, agreed to be paid according to the pieces they produced instead of a salary. That practice is common in the wrought-iron industry, and no one complained about it until this week, he said.

Patton said he bought the Moorpark steelworks company a year ago and decided to merge it with the small wrought-iron company, which produces grill work and fences primarily for Ventura County residences. Red Iron workers continued to earn a salary under the conditions of the sale, he said.

Patton said he cannot afford to provide benefits to both companies and increase wages. Since the economic downturn, business has been slow, he said. He has been considering for awhile shutting down the wrought-iron company and may do so if the strike continues, he added.

Although Patton declined to say whether the workers had been fired since the walkout, he acknowledged that he is hiring temporary employees. A help-wanted sign on the plant gate advertised for a shop foreman and layout fitter.