Local 2038 also represents Indiana Pickling, Steel Warehouse, and other steel-related facilities at the Port of Indiana. It was easier to get access. For now, Beta workers seem to be content with the mill's safety. Since March, there have been no grievances filed over safety or any other issue, Fliakos says. This is due to open communication between management and the hourly employees, both Joseph and Fliakos say.
Issues are handled before they reach the grievance stage, they say.
Communication is easier at a small mill such as Beta, which will have about 160 employees in the bargaining unit after the melt shop starts up. Some of these are related to safety. Safety has improved recently, and Dick Smith, a safety manager at Middletown, has worked well with the union to improve safety, Bailey says. But Bailey still believes that upper management's foremost concern continues to be productivity. The grievance process can be frustrating, Bailey says.