Last Friday was the first time that ASARCO officials and representatives of seven striking unions held labor talks since the Oct. 13 strike started when nearly 2,000 workers at four Arizona Copper Mining operations and a Texas Copper Refinery walked off their jobs.

After last week’s meeting the steelworkers union walked away telling the Tucson press as expected the company has not changed its previously rejected demands for major economic and non economic concessions.

Officials of the Teamsters union issued a press release after the session blasting ASARCO and its parent company Mexico City based Grupo Mexico.

Karla Schuman who is secretary-treasurer of Teamster local 104 alleges Grupo Mexico was a “rogue company that

believes it can ignore U.S. labor laws , recklessly exploit the environment and abuse workers like they do in Mexico.”

The union news release also states our brave members are striking to demand ASARCO respect U.S. Labor laws and it was no surprise the company was refusing to bargain in good faith and it was using “scabs” to operate their facilities. The Teamsters says it has 130 members who maintain and operate heavy equipment at ASARCO’s mission mine South of Tucson.

Noting that ASARCO gave to their workers and the unions representing them their “last, best and final offer “ means the freezing of pension plans, leaving two third of the workers without a raise and more than doubles the out of pocket employee cost for health care.

The strike entering its six week with the Hayden Smelter and Concentrator operations in Southern Gila County remaining shut down along with the ASARCO Copper Refinery in Texas. Three of the firm’s mining operations are continuing to operate during the labor dispute. They are the Mission Mine South of Tucson, the Silver Bell Mine West of Marana, and the Ray Mine East of Kearny, Arizona.