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Unable to negotiate a new labor contract Wednesday, about 70 union workers walked out of a Defiance, Ohio, tool plant.
Chicago-based SK Hand Tools Corp. is asking the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers to make concessions to help the company weather the recession, said Tim Herrick, SK’s industrial operations manager.
“The company is looking for help to get through this time frame,” he said.
By the time the existing contract expired at midnight Tuesday, negotiations hadn’t reached the point where the sides were discussing specific concessions, Herrick said.
Herrick declined to say how much the company was seeking to cut from its labor costs.
Herrick traveled from Chicago to Defiance this week to meet with plant and union representatives about the contract. Officials at the union’s District 54 office in Cleveland couldn’t be reached Wednesday, but Herrick said he talked with workers on the picket line.
“There’s not any animosity there,” Herrick said. “I’d say it’s an amicable disagreement.”
Founded in 1921, privately held SK makes tools for automotive repair and other applications. Herrick says the company’s principal market is professional mechanics and high-end amateurs.
The company has orders waiting to be filled, and Herrick said he hopes the dispute can be resolved quickly. The next bargaining session is slated for Friday.
