As West Virginians Struggle with Inflation and Rising Gas Prices, Felman Production Announces a Labor Agreement with the United Steelworkers to Increase Wages at its Letart, WV Production Facility
LETART, W.Va., July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Felman Production, a Letart, WV-based metallurgy manufacturing company led by Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber employing dozens of West Virginia workers, announced today it has reached a labor agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) and its affiliated Local Union No. 5171, ensuring dozens good-paying union jobs to West Virginians and bolstering the region's manufacturing footprint.
Agreement increases wages, provides financial stability for West Virginians at a time of economic uncertainty
LETART, W.Va., July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Felman Production, a Letart, WV-based metallurgy manufacturing company led by Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber employing dozens of West Virginia workers, announced today it has reached a labor agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) and its affiliated Local Union No. 5171, ensuring dozens good-paying union jobs to West Virginians and bolstering the region's manufacturing footprint.
As of July 1, 2022, the amended labor agreement includes immediate wage increases for all union workers at Felman Production's Letart-based facility. The increases across the multiple bargaining units range from 7.5% to 12.1%. The previous labor agreement between Felman Production and USW expired in September 2023, and the amended labor agreement announced today extends the agreement through September 2024. The USW has represented the workers at Felman since the plant was built in 1952. The workers at Felman are recognized as USW Local 5171.
Roy Martin, Staff Representative at USW District 8, said: "Today is a great day for the working men and women of USW Local 5171. The competitive-paying, family-sustaining jobs at Felman Production are great for our members, their loved ones, and the community they live in. We hope with this agreement, Felman will attract future employees and sustain the current employees for years to come."
Vitaliy Anosov, Plant Manager at Felman Production, said: "We are pleased to have successfully negotiated this agreement with the USW. The increased cost of living across the country has been burdensome for workers all across the country, and we are happy to support our employees in the current economic situation. Under the leadership of Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber, Felman Production has always prided itself on being a 'union shop,' and we look forward to a long cooperation with USW and our employees."
About Felman Production
Felman Production, LLC, is a West Virginia-based producer of high-quality ferrosilicomanganese, an important element that increases the tensile strength, toughness, stiffness, wear resistance, and hardenability of steel, helping to improve the safety and effectiveness of the end product. The plant is strategically located along the Ohio River, near New Haven, Mason County, and is accessible by major transportation modes, including rail, water, and truck. The plant has its own barge facility and internal rail system.
Felman Production is one of only two companies in the United States that produces critically important silicomanganese. By utilizing multiple furnaces, which operate around-the-clock, the company can produce approximately 105,000 metric tons of silicomanganese annually at its 190 plus acre facility.
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