Labor Trial Postponed As New Charges Filed Against Tuscon Company

TUCSON, AZ —Federal hearings have been postponed in a labor complaint against Tucson-based ASARCO, a company that mines, smelts, and refines copper.

The National Labor Relations Board has postponed hearings against the company. United Steel Workers says the NLRB needed to reviewpart of the allegations with its Division of Advice. The trial was scheduled to begin October 19, 2021.

United Steel Workers has also filed new unfair labor practice charges against ASARCO, alleging unlawful termination. The company has three mines in Arizona, as well as mills and a smelter, as well a refinery in Texas, according to the company website.

USW and six other labor unions filed charges against the company, alleging unfair labor practices and unfair contracts, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

About 1,800 workers began a strike at ASARCO locations in Arizona and Texas in October 2019, after the company "insulted" workers by offering them a contract "including no wage increase for nearly two-thirds of workers, freezing the existing pension plan, and more than doubling the out-of-pocket contribution individual workers already pay for health care," according to United Steel Workers.

The strike lasted almost nine months, according to the Daily Star.

ASARCO employees at these sites are represented by United Steel Workers and a number of other unions.