A federal judge has set a February 1 hearing in a nearly year-old legal dispute between US copper producer Asarco LLC and the United Steelworkers union over the payment of a quarterly bonus to hundreds of the company's hourly workers in the US Southwest.
In a ruling Thursday, Judge Susan Bolton of the US District Court for the District of Arizona also agreed to give both Asarco and the USW more time to file final legal briefs in the case.
The USW, which represents several unions employing more than 2,000 Asarco employees, was given until December 11 to submit its pleadings. Asarco, a Grupo Mexico subsidiary, has until January 6 to reply to the union.
Asarco is seeking to overturn arbitrator Michael Rappaport's decision that the company must pay more than $9 million in unpaid copper bonuses to about 750 hourly workers. The bonus, tied to the price of copper on the London Metal Exchange, has meant as much as $8,000/year to individual employees.
Asarco has argued it is not contractually obligated to pay the bonus to union workers hired after July 1, 2011. The USW disagrees and recently urged the judge to order Asarco to pay the bonus. It is unclear when Bolton will issue a final order in the case.
The bonus is one of the major unsettled issues in ongoing labor negotiations between the company and union. Earlier this week, Asarco unilaterally implemented its "last, best and final" contract offer, a move that resulted in the USW filing an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.
Asarco's Ray, Mission and Silver Bell mines in Arizona produce about 400 million pounds/year of copper and a smelter in Hayden, Arizona, produces 720,000 tons/year. The company's Amarillo refinery in Texas is capable of producing 279.5 million pounds/year.
