Westinghouse Electric Co, a unit of Japan’s Toshiba Corp (6502. T) , said on Sunday it issued a lockout notice to 172 union members at its nuclear components manufacturing plant in Newington, New Hampshire, declaring that the sides had reached a stalemate in contract negotiations.
Westinghouse, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection, began formal negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers in April for a contract that expired almost a year earlier.
The Boilermakers and Westinghouse engaged in a mediation process that was not successful, and the union has refused to accept the company’s last, best and final contract offer, the company said.
« As the Boilermakers were not willing to accept the offer, the company made the difficult decision to invoke a lockout, » Michele DeWitt, Westinghouse interim senior vice president for nuclear fuel & components manufacturing, said in a statement.
The lockout was set to go into effect just before midnight on Sunday.
Union representatives did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Sandra Maler and Andrew Hay)
