The Metalworkers' Federation of France (FTM-CGT) expressed their solidarity with the 400 members of USW Local 200 who are on strike over unfair labor practices (ULP) at the Constellium aluminum-rolling facility in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
“We cannot accept that Constellium management wants to impose a contract that would erase decades of collective bargaining progress on issues like seniority and occupational health and safety,” FTM-CGT leaders Frédéric Sanchez and Philippe Tremouille wrote in a Dec. 22 letter to International President Tom Conway. “Constellium workers have the right to fair working conditions and our duty as a union is to avoid competition between workers as the group management tries to impose.”
USW members initiated the ULP strike on Dec. 15 after months of negotiations that included extending the existing contract more than a month past its Nov. 1 expiration.
“You can count on the full support of the FTM-CGT and the CGT Constellium in your struggle,” the letter read. “We will be your voice at the top management and we will defend your positions as firmly as ours.”
The FTM-CGT, a USW partner in the global labor federation IndustriALL, represents workers at Constellium manufacturing facilities in France. Paris-based Constellium purchased the Muscle Shoals facility, formerly owned by Wise Alloys and Reynolds, in 2015.