db part 1 and 2 legal advisory

Iron  City  Manufacturing  

Iron  City  manufacturing  is  an  organization  that  provides  coatings  for  large  pipes  used  in  mining  and  oil   distribution.  The  company  was  started  on  the  iron  range  close  to  mining  and  initially  provided   rubberized  linings  for  pipes  used  in  mining.  The  founder  and  owner  of  the  company  was  a  popular  local   businessman.  The  company  had  a  family  atmosphere  an  in  fact  was  staffed  with  members  of  several   families  in  the  area.  A  visit  with  the  leadership  team  revealed  that  out  of  12  supervisors/managers,  11   were  related  to  others.  In  the  early  days,  Iron  City  had  20-­‐40  employees,  all  of  whom  lived  in  Iron  city  for   their  entire  lives.  The  primary  workforce  for  the  company  was  unskilled  installers  for  the  rubber  coating.   Revenue  grew  to  1o  Million  and  was  holding  steady.  

Approximately,  5  years  ago,  the  company  expanded  its  business,  marketing  and  sales  to  include  piping   coating  for  the  oil  industry.    This  new  business  line  required  higher  skills  in  the  laboratory,   manufacturing,  sales  staffs.    Both  revenues  and  the  workforce  grew  dramatically.  Revenues  quickly   topped  30  Million  and  the  workforce  grew  to  100,  to  now  include  the  skilled  installers-­‐  specialized   coating  X.    The  two  groups  of  Installers  were  in  separate  buildings,  had  very  different  skill  sets  (Skilled  vs   unskilled)  and  were  paid  accordingly.  The  dramatic  growth  caught  the  attention  of  potential  buyers  and   the  founder  sold  the  company  to  a  Canadian  Investment  firm.  The  investment  firm  also  purchased   another  manufacturing  company  in  Canada  that  was  also  providing  a  similar  but  different  manufacturing   process  to  the  oil  industry.  The  firm  hired  a  new  president  (from  Canada)  to  head  the  new  company  with   both  manufacturing  facilities.  The  new  president  was  an  excellent  manager.  The  company  has  always   had  and  did  maintain  a  generous  bonus  program  which  shared  a  percentage  of  profits.  

Within  the  company  there  has  been  some  rumblings  from  some  employees  who  did  not  think  that  they   were  seeing  a  fair  share  of  profits.  There  was  some  complaints  that  some  supervisors  were  not   adequately  trained  after  their  promotions  from  the  ranks.    Some  of  the  employees  who  had  been  hired   into  the  Iron  City  Manufacturing  family  were    dissatisfied  and  worried  about  the  change  in  ownership,   culture  and  control  in  the  company  after  the  purchase.  

Over  the  last  ten  years,  the  Steelworkers  Union  which  has  been  a  respected  union  in  this  area  has   sought  the  representation  of  employees  in  a  variety  of  industries.  For  example,  the  union  now   represents  clerical  employees  in  the  local  hospitals,  as  well  as  mechanics  in  local  garages.  

The  union  is  now  focusing  their  attention  on  Iron  City  manufacturing.