PACE workers at Imerys´ Alabama plant ratify first contract

SYLACAUGA, Ala. (Feb. 20)—Union employees at Imerys USA´s Sylacauga calcium carbonate plant have ratified their first contract agreement with the company since organizing their local in June 2000. The pact caps an organizing effort by the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union that began in June 1999 after the company, a subsidiary of French materials and mineral supplier Imerys S.A., withdrew recognition of the union. More than 70 percent of the members of PACE Local 3-516 ratified the three-year pact Feb. 6. The deal includes annual raises of 3.5, 3 and 3 percent; a pension of up to 2.08 percent of earnings per year of service; a 401(k) plan with a company match; overtime pay beyond eight hours; and caps on employee-paid health insurance premiums.