Hecla Mining Co (HL)

[Cincy1]

Hecla, USW will return Thursday to bargaining table
Louisville, Kentucky (Platts)--3 Oct 2017 551 pm EDT/2151 GMT
Negotiators for Hecla Mining and the United Steelworkers union plan to head back to the bargaining table Thursday for the start of another three days of talks aimed at ending a near-seven-months-old strike at the company's Lucky Friday silver mine near Mullan, Idaho. In their last meeting September 29-30, the two sides focused on changes Hecla proposed to its job posting and bidding system, company spokesman Luke Russell told Platts in an email. USW Local 5114 officials have voiced objections to the proposal, saying it could make it more difficult to bid on job openings. USW officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Russell said no agreement was reached on any topic during discussions last weekend, but "at the previous meetings, earlier in September, we did reach agreement on articles related to seniority, short-term disability and recall," he added, but did not elaborate. The work stoppage by more than 200 union employees began March 13. In recent weeks, the pace of negotiations has increased, suggesting the two sides could be getting closer to a tentative agreement.