Union workers strike at Kennametal facility

Union workers at Kennametal's Greenfield Tap and Die plant in Massachusetts went on strike today, following months of negotiations that began in March.

United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Local 274 are protesting what they consider to be the company's unfair labor practices, including demands for health care concessions, amid the advanced materials producer's plans to restructure the company over the next two years.

The Greenfield facility manufactures high-speed steel taps, which cut and form threads on cutting tools. Kennametal's fourth quarter sales for the relevant segment declined by 8pc to $49mn from the year earlier period.

Kennametal plans to restructure the company in the fiscal years 2020 and 2021, which includes facility closures. The Carbidie plant that produces tungsten carbide wear parts in Pennsylvania is the most recent planned US closure.

Greenfield Tap and Die built the facility in the 1940s. Samuel Fox purchased the facility in 1986, which marks the last time union workers went on strike at the plant. Kennametal Industrial Products Group bought the company in 1992.