Dresser-Rand talks set for Wednesday

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.stargazettenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070814/UPDATE/308140036

PAINTED POST – Representatives of Dresser-Rand Co. and Local 313 IUE CWA are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday as the union’s strike enters its 12th day.

The meeting was called by the company without any explanation, said Steve Coates, the union’s president.

“Hopefully it is to set up dates for future meetings,” Coates said. “But I have no idea. I just don’t have a clue.”

The 400 union workers at Painted Post walked off the job Aug. 4 after their three-year contract expired. Union officials said health care costs and work rules have been among the most difficult issues to resolve in efforts to reach a new agreement.

Dresser-Rand’s Painted Post plant makes compressors for military and industrial use. The company, whose headquarters is in Houston, said it has hired replacement workers and is using salaried workers and retirees to keep the facility running during the strike.

Dan Meisner, human relations manager at the plant, could not be reached for comment today.