TUCSON, Ariz. - ASARCO Teamsters say Thursday negotiations with the mining company yielded no progress toward ending the ongoing strike.
ASARCO Teamsters started a strike October 13 over work conditions, benefits and pay. The union is negotiating a new contract that would cover about 2,000 hourly workers at mines in Arizona and Texas.
ASARCO is a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico.
“Grupo Mexico is a rogue company that believes it can ignore U.S. labor laws, recklessly exploit the environment and abuse U.S. workers and their communities like they do in Mexico,” said Karla Schumann, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local Union 104, in a statement. “Our brave members are striking to demand that ASARCO respect U.S. labor laws and honor the contributions of its dedicated workers.”
The strike initiated after 77 percent of the workers voted in favor of the measure.
Teamsers Local 104 will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the ASARCO Mission Complex Copper Mine in Sahuarita.
The Teamsters say 130 workers at ASARCO's Mission Copper Mine have gone 10 years without a pay raise. According to the union, ASARCO submitted a "last, best and final offer" that froze pension plans, offered raises to a third of employees and more than doubled out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
