Union president talks about Noranda layoffs, says company owes back pay

MARSTON, Mo. — Dallas Snider knows hard work.

He grew up working on the family farm in New Madrid County.

When he was out of work and had a family to care for, he applied to Noranda, where he worked in the company’s rod mill for more than two decades.

But the job he has may be the hardest. Snider is president of the United Steelworkers Local 7686.

Elected president of the union in May, Snider took over leadership just before Noranda announced plans to shut down its aluminum manufacturing plant and go into bankruptcy.

“I never dreamed when I took office that this was going to happen. This is going to affect all of us in this area for many, many miles,” Snider said about the layoffs which have reduced the local’s membership from 804 last May to 320 today.

Typically, as part of the union’s leadership, safety of the members was a priority, Snider said.

The union also brought up concerns about health insurance and benefits with the company on behalf of its members.

At their meetings on the second Thursday of each month, members would discuss finances and review requests for donations.

The officers then would open the floor to the members who would bring up a range of topics from concerns about their jobs to pointing out someone who might benefit from their help.

Snider called the local union more like a family.

On Feb. 9, when the company filed for bankruptcy in Eastern District U.S. Court, things changed for the workers, the union, the company and, in Snider’s opinion, for much of Southeast Missouri.

“My view is when Apollo robbed us of all of our money and stocks and left us, we just sat here with so much debt, the company just couldn’t make it, which is legal but ... ” Snider said, letting the sentence trail into silence.

The union will be present at the bankruptcy hearings as they move forward. The International Steelworkers of America employs a lawyer who is filing motions on the local union membership’s behalf, Snider said.

There are issues involving vacation pay and insurance. Also, the union contends Noranda owes back wages because the company failed to provide the required 90-day notice of a shutdown.

“They are saying they are just curtailing, but when you lay everybody off except for about 12 people, we are saying that is a shutdown,” Snider said.

The attorney advised the union leader every bankruptcy proceeding is different — some move quickly, or it could take months.

Snider said he hopes it will move quickly.

He said the bidding process to sell the company’s southern rolling mill begins March 28.

“Someone may then come in and buy (the local plant),” he said. “That is our hope that there is someone out there. When it goes through the bankruptcy part of it, the judge will get to sell it off.”

Noranda is a closed shop, meaning those employed by the company are union members.

Snider acknowledges there are misconceptions about unions, including United Steelworkers Local 7686.

According to Snider, the local union’s membership is mostly in Southeast Missouri. Members, however, also come from as far away as Cape Girardeau and Dyersburg, Tennessee.

He and the other members have heard the jabs about their wages and the need for right-to-work, which would make union membership optional.

“Most of them don’t know that labor is the cheapest thing Noranda has got,” Snider said. “The materials to make aluminum are so expensive. They come from France or Jamaica, places like that. Labor is the cheapest thing. Labor is nothing to it.”

He said Noranda never complained about the union.

“But a lot of people on the outside even before I went to work out here, there were people saying in our community that they are making way too much money. It was $2.73, and I was getting 90 cents on the farm at that time. That was a big gap, but that was a total different job than working on the farm. We have a lot of people; I don’t know if they are jealous or what, but they think we are just getting filthy rich out there,” Snider said.

The union president said those wages have a domino effect. Their jobs brought about more jobs in the community — from grocery-store clerks to truck drivers.

“Our wages have a lot to do with their wages out there; they may not realize that,” Snider said. “If you read about it, they say it impacts seven times. Every employee is going to affect seven people. I really think that is short. I believe it is way more than that that is affected.”

The union membership also affected communities and organizations with its generosity over the years. Snider estimated it spent $10,000 to $15,000 annually making donations to St. Jude’s, Kenny Rogers Children’s Center, local schools and area sports.

Members also volunteered their time at the telethon, community events or conducting fundraising cookouts.

Their union dues have an even larger effect, he explained, noting union lawyers fight for fair trade laws, even spending $8 million to fight the recent dumping of aluminum into the U.S. market by China, one of the major problems faced by Noranda.

The union also is involved in politics. He is particularly concerned about the recent move in Missouri to cut unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 13 weeks, knowing this is affecting former Noranda employees.

Snider said he and his chief steward, Gary Harper, field 65 calls or more a day from union members concerned about their future. He offers encouragement, job leads and urges them to attend job fairs and programs, including one being hosted at the union hall today.

The calls continue at night when he heads home from the union hall.

Snider and his wife of 38 years, Marcy, are the parents of three sons and have two grandchildren, all of whom live nearby.

The uncertainty has affected his family as well, he said.

“I don’t know where we are going right now. ... What are we going to do if this happens or this? There are a lot of conversations going on,” Snider said. “I was raised on a farm, worked on a farm, so I know I could get a part-time job, but I’m too old to pick up and move, so I’m going to hang in here with them.”

But Snider hasn’t given up hope, either.

“Deep down in my heart, I’ve got the feelings that someone is going to buy us,” he said. “The plant has a lot of life left in it. It ain’t no where dead; it has got a lot of life.”