Workers strike at Chatham plywood plant

Union workers at the Moncure Plywood plant in Chatham County are on strike today after rejecting the company's contract offer.

Workers are picketing outside the plant after going on strike Sunday at 9 p.m., said Melvin Montford, business representative for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Montford estimated about 90 percent of the 206 workers in the bargaining unit have gone on strike. The remainder are crossing the picket line.

Issues dividing union workers and management, according to Montford, include: seniority rights, the company's right to hire temporary workers, overtime, worker drug testing, health insurance premiums and the creation of a joint committee comprised of management and union workers to improve safety at the plant. Wages are not a major issue, he said.

Executives at Moncure Plywood, which is based in Moncure, couldn't be reached for immediate comment. The plant, which produces hardwood plywood used in upholstered furniture, was sold by Weyerhaeuser to Wood Resources of Greenwich, Conn., in December 2004.

After the union's three-year contract expired April 30, the two sides continued negotiating with the assistance of a federal mediator. But talks broke down Tuesday after the company made a final take-it-or-leave-it proposal, Montford said.

Items in the company's proposal that the union objects to include increasing the cost of health insurance for families by $80 to $90 a month and increasing the number of hours that employees can be required to work each week from 50 to 60, Montford said.

"With a 60-hour mandatory clause, they could work people seven consecutive days for weeks without a day off," Montford said. "You know, even the slaves got off on Sunday."