SIU boatmen employed by Pittsburgh-area Twin Rivers Towing have approved a new five-year contract. The agreement took effect April 1 and lasts through May 2007.
The pact calls for increased wages, improved medical benefits and some work-rule changes which the members had sought. The most significant change is one that facilitates advancement for the SIU boatmen.
Also, for the first time, Twin Rivers has signed on with the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md.
The union represents approximately 50 deckhands and cooks who work aboard Twin Rivers towboats and barges. The company, based in Elizabeth, Pa., hauls coal along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers.
Representing the union on the negotiating committee were Deckhands Jerry Switch and Brian Glover, Cook Marta Vance and SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi. Bargaining took place in March at the company’s office in Elizabeth; voting occurred at the Twin Rivers pier in Elizabeth on May 25. The final tally was 37-11 in favor of the contract.
Twin Rivers Labor Relations Manager Tony Mayer and General Manager Dean Orr negotiated for the company.
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