By Angela Hatton
Metropolis, IL – Metropolis' Honeywell plant manager says union workers may have to undergo retraining before they can go back on the job. Around 220 members of the United Steel Workers have been locked out of the nuclear plant since late June. Contract negotiations are set to resume in October, but plant manager Kevin Smith doesn't expect a compromise anytime soon. In an interview posted on Honeywell's website, Smith says he expects the two parties will find common ground. Smith says the company will likely need to phase in contract employees, as they phase out temporary and salaried workers who have filled in for the union. Honeywell has been producing uranium hexafluoride or UF-6 with temporary employees since the beginning of September.