News From USW: ''Resign from SECAT,'' Steelworkers Tell Williams; Union Calls on Ormet CEO to Quit Role as Director.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today called on Interim Ormet CEO Mike Williams to resign from his position on the Board of Directors of SECAT, Inc., an aluminum research laboratory that receives millions of dollars in annual taxpayer funding. Under Williams' stewardship, Ormet Corporation has floundered financially, even as the markets for aluminum and aluminum products flourish.

Meanwhile, about 1,300 members of USW Locals 5724 and 5760 were forced on strike when the company illegally implemented changes to its contract with the USW, and last week, Ormet imposed expensive changes to the health insurance of 2,000 retirees and their spouses as part of the company's reorganization under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.

USW District 1 Director David McCall said Williams is quickly distinguishing himself as a "worthy" successor to former Ormet CEO Emmett Boyle, whose own legendary anti-worker approach to business was forged during a 20-month labor dispute with the USW in the early 1990's at Ravenswood Aluminum.

SECAT performs research and development for the aluminum and automotive industries and has been given millions of dollars in public money from the U.S. Department of Energy and the state of Kentucky. In addition to state and federal taxpayer-funded grants for research and laboratory equipment, SECAT received $1.2 million from the University of Kentucky for its on-campus facility.

"We have no choice but to demand his immediate resignation from the SECAT Board of Directors," McCall said. "Any amount of public money spent at Williams' discretion is too much."