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RMI Secures $6M Defense Department Contract
WASHINGTON -- Despite an eight-month union lockout that has no end in sight, RMI Titanium Co., Niles, is still able to secure a $6 million contract from the Defense Department for weapons research. U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Concord, R-14, yesterday announced the allocation is contained in the fiscal Defense Appropriations Bill, which was approved yesterday in the House of Representatives by a vote of 403-17. The $417 billion spending bill includes a 3.5% pay increase for the military, new weapons systems and $25 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, LaTourette said in a news release. RMI will use the $6 million to research and develop new manufacturing methods to lower the cost of U.S.-manufactured strategic metals used to make weapons. "RMI intends to partner with other Ohio companies to identify components and systems that work best for reducing the weight of weapons, including the use of lighter metals, such as titanium," LaTourette said. "The funds will also allow RMI to design plans for economically fabricating, joining and machining elements such as titanium alloys for military applications." Titanium is a strong, lightweight, non-corrosive metal used extensively in the aerospace industry. More than 350 workers at RMI have been locked out since last fall, when members of United Steelworkers Locals 2155 and 2155-7 rejected a contract company officials said was their final offer. Provisions of the contract included a two-tier wage system, elimination of retiree health care, replacement of the pension system with a 401(k) plan and a 10% contribution by new employees to their health care premiums. RMI managers maintain changes are necessary for the company to survive, while union leaders charge that management has assumed a "union-busting mentality," an in particular blamed Timothy G. Rupert, president and chief executive officer of RMI's parent, RTI International Metals Inc. Since the lockout began, the Niles plant has been staffed by managers, and the locked-out workers remain stationed at makeshift shelters at the company's gates. As yet, the dispute has seen nothing like the rancor that accompanied the 6 1/2 month strike that began in October 1998, when RMI brought in nonunion employees to replace striking workers. "