Strike ends after Nordson Corp., union forge deal

AMHERST — A two-week strike at Nordson Corp. has ended with a new contract that includes pay increases for 133 union workers. Members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1802 returned to work Wednesday. The prior day, they voted to ratify a deal that includes a 7 percent wage increase in the first year. Additional raises were not disclosed. In a written statement, the union said the "stronger" contract includes better mandatory overtime policies, retirement plan improvements and a health insurance cost freeze. "IAM Local 1802 members held the line and stood strong for a better life for themselves, their families and the community," said IAM District 54 President T. Dean Wright Jr. "They can be proud of the solidarity they have shown, which will result in key improvements and serve as a framework for even stronger contracts in the future." Nordson Vice President David Titone released a brief statement saying the company was pleased to reach an agreement and looked forward "to getting back to normal operations." The Amherst plant — which makes products used for sealing, coating and adhesives — continued to operate during the strike with workers who don't belong to the union. IAM Local 1802 voted to strike at midnight on Monday, Nov. 14, after talks over a three-year contract fell through. Mandatory overtime was a deal-breaker in a previous offer made by Nordson, the union said. It would have also required employees to work at least 32 Saturdays each year, with Sundays as an option. Pickets ringed the Amherst plant in the days that followed, holding signs. They were kept warm by deliveries of coffee and cocoa, according to social media posts. Employees at Nordson's Amherst plant had "put themselves and their families at risk during a pandemic to ensure their critical jobs were done," and were asking for "a basic level of work-life balance" in the new contract, Wright previously said. IAM District 54, which represents more than 14,000 active and retired union members in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and Michigan, hailed the new contract as a win. "The Fighting Machinists Union doesn't back down from any company," said Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. "IAM Local 1802 and District 54 have shown working people across Ohio and the nation what it means to stand up and fight for the treatment they deserve and have earned."