Crucible Steel workers accept pay cuts to save mill

Crucible Specialty Metal workers in Syracuse, N.Y., overwhelmingly agreed on September 4 to accept major pay cuts as part of a labor contract designed to save the bankrupt Geddes steel mill.

By a ratio of 4-1, union members approved the contract offered by BlackEagle Partners LLC, a New York City firm trying to buy Crucible in bankruptcy court. BlackEagle, which specializes in rescuing troubled companies, is headed by LeMoyne College graduate Michael Madden.

Madden said September 4 that the union's support was crucial. "The workforce at Crucible is spectacular," he said. Finalizing bank financing is now the last major hurdle standing in the way of the purchase, he said.

"From a personal standpoint, assuming we can get this thing done, it will be very gratifying if we can save several hundred jobs," Madden said.

Crucible employs 693 people, about 550 of them union members. They voted Friday afternoon at Pensabene's Casa Grande banquet hall on State Fair Boulevard in Syracuse after union officials explained contract details in a private meeting. Workers gathered outside the hall cheered and applauded when the voting results were announced.

The five-year contract contains hourly wage cuts of about $2, elimination of incentive pay, increases in employee contributions to health insurance premiums and elimination of retiree health insurance.