Labor unions at uranium conversion plant picket to protect health

Union workers at the nation’s only uranium conversion plant, in Metropolis, Ill., fear that exposure in the workplace contributed to the high cancer mortality rate at the plant. According to an August 8 article in the New York Times, workers "have erected 42 crosses nearby in memory of workers who died of cancer. Twenty-seven smaller crosses symbolize workers who have survived the disease". The unions are involved in a protracted labor dispute with Honeywell, the plant operator, which is attempting to reduce pensions for newly hired workers and health benefits for retirees. The union is picketing the plant around the clock. Reported the Times: “We deal with hydrofluoric acid,” said Darrell Lillie, president of United Steelworkers Local 7-669, which represents the union workers. “We make fluorine. This is bad stuff. The least we feel like we could have is good medical benefits when we retire.”