Too many double shifts? OT in the steel industry a big issue Sunbury Daily Item, PA
Overtime has long been a divisive issue in the steel industry, and not just between management and the union, but among union members as well. Some workers love overtime because it pays 150 percent of their normal hourly wages. Others would rather have the time off.
It's been a particularly thorny issue at Clairton, where the nature of the work compounds the problem.
The plant produces coke, a baked coal that fuels blast furnaces. Temperatures in the ovens exceed 2,000 degrees. Lid men, who work on top of the ovens, faced temperatures ranging from 120 to more than 150 degrees this summer. They work in pairs, 30 minutes on, 30 minutes in air conditioned shelters while their partners take the heat.