Facts Related to Our South Shore Manufacturing Facility and Proposed Union Contract
South Shore Employment Facts
Wages
As demonstrated by the labor cost data that was shared with the union, in 2015, the average individual South Shore employee earned approximately $53,200 in wages; with fringe benefits, the average total compensation per employee was approximately $87,200.
In Greenup County, KY, the median entire household income is $43,808; the national average household median income is $53,046.
Source: Greenup County, KY, Jun 2014
The average wage among skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers at the South Shore plant is approximately 20.5% HIGHER than the average wage among ALL skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers in the region.
Source: 2016 IBM Kenexa data for South Shore, KY 41175
In the latest company offer, HWI offered lump-sum payments over the three-year term of the contract of $2,000, $1,000, and $1,000 per employee.
Overtime
The average South Shore employee worked approximately 300 hours of overtime in 2015. Per the current proposed labor contract, employees are compensated at one and a half times their hourly rate and, in some instances, two times their hourly wage for each hour of overtime worked.
HWI pays overtime wages far beyond the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour requirements, which currently only require overtime to be paid after exceeding 40 hours in a workweek. The South Shore plant pays overtime daily for each hour worked beyond a normal eight-hour workday.
In addition, it pays overtime for all hours worked over 40, and it pays double time for hours worked on a seventh consecutive workday. The proposed contract continues to include this compensation structure.
Vacation Pay
South Shore employees receive paid vacation, which is paid based on their average hourly rate including overtime (not only base hourly rate) for the prior year. In addition, employees receive a vacation bonus based on the number of vacation weeks they have accrued.
HWI has proposed to eliminate the bonus portion, as it is not financially prudent to pay a bonus for vacationing workers while it still must cover for these absences by paying other workers overtime.
Flexible Start Times
Currently, if employees are required to start before their normal start time or stay beyond their normal quitting time, HWI must pay overtime. HWI’s proposal would permit up to 10 employees at a time to have their weekly schedule adjusted in advance up to two hours on either side of start and quit time to facilitate more effective utilization of the majority of the workforce.
Temporary Workers
Product demand is not uniform throughout the year; therefore, to better match labor to demand, HWI has proposed to have the right to hire up to 10 employees per year at South Shore for up to six months to perform work (at a reduced rate) during periods of high volume versus paying more overtime or hiring more headcount subject to extended layoffs during periods of low volume. All other USW-represented HWI plants in the United States agreed to this language in 2016.
Drug & Alcohol Policy
The union wants these employees to continue to have a second chance. Citing safety measures, HWI proposes not allowing these individuals to continue working when (1) they could have an accident that puts themselves and/or coworkers at risk, and when (2) HWI currently provides a benefit program available to get them help before they could have an accident. HWI has proposed to eliminate second chances for employees who test positive under reasonable suspicion situations.