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Contract Ratification Keeps RMI Plant Viable, Company Says"
NILES, Ohio -- Today's ratification of a 62-month labor contract by members of the United Steelworkers of America means the RMI Titanium Co. plant here will remain viable, the company said in a statement Wednesday night.Some 360 members of USWA Locals 2155 and 2155-7 were locked out by RMI management 13 months ago when they failed to ratify what the company said was its final offer. The long impasse broke last week when a tentative agreement was reached Nov. 23. "We entered this bargaining process 15 months ago with very specific objectives designed to keep the Niles plant viable long term in an increasingly competitive titanium industry. With this agreement, we have achieved those goals," said David Paull, vice president of administration for RTI International Metals Inc., parent company of RMI."All of us with a stake in the Niles plant owe a debt of gratitude to the one hundred plus non-union employees who worked two jobs for over a year to keep this facility in business during the work stoppage."Five years ago, union workers at RMI's Niles plant staged an eight-month strike.RTI, through its various subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes titanium and specialty metal mill products, extruded shapes, formed parts and engineered systems.Visit RTI International Metals at www.rtiintl.com"