CLEVELAND -- The United Steelworkers of America has filed a charge with the Region 8 of the National Labor Relations Board against RMI Titanium Co. Inc., Niles, Ohio, for failing to provide union negotiators with certain financial records necessary for bargaining.RMI broke the law when it refused to provide documentation for the company's repeated claims that the Niles plant is losing money, the union says.More than 360 RMI employees have been locked out since the company and union failed to reach an agreement when their previous contract expired on Oct. 6, 2003."RMI is demanding millions of dollars in concessions without showing any evidence to support claims that the plant isn't profitable," says USWA Sub-District Director Gary Steinbeck.If prosecuted by the NLRB, the unfair bargaining charge could eventually result in an illegal lockout, where RMI would bear responsibility for back-pay to the date the request for information was made. "It is vitally important that RMI understands that we will hold management accountable for its actions," Steinbeck says. "Our good-faith efforts to reach a fair contract have not been reciprocated."Despite somewhat regular meetings with management in recent weeks, the Steinbeck says company officials have shown little or no interest in addressing the issues brought to the table by the union representatives. RMI pleas of poverty and demands for concessions rang especially hollow, he adds, considering hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation increases and bonuses received by company executives and members of parent company RTI's board of directors during the last year."It takes two parties to negotiate, and so far, management has not shown any interest in the issues we raise on behalf of our members," Steinbeck says. "That's not negotiating; it's dictating."Visit United Steelworkers of America: www.uswa.org"