Union members in Massena have approved a strike, but that doesn’t mean workers will hit the picket line anytime soon.

Nearly 500 members of the local chapter of the United Steelworkers union cast their votes Friday night. They agreed to authorize a strike against their employers after negotiations over new labor contracts with Alcoa and Arconic broke off in mid-May.

Union leaders are hoping the vote sends a message — one that will help drive these corporations back to the bargaining table.

Union president: "We want to negotiate."

Since their contract expired on May 16, members of the local United Steelworkers union have been getting a lot of questions from people around Massena, wondering if a strike is imminent.

"Listen, we’re not going in there wanting to strike," said Mark Goodfellow, president of United Steelworkers Local 420. "Or any kind of work stoppage at all, period. We want to continue to negotiate."

Related stories: UPDATED: Alcoa, NYPA reach 7-year deal to stay in Massena More than 4,000 Alcoa and Arconic employees are represented by United Steelworkers chapters across the country. Local 420 represents several hundred workers at the aluminum plant in Massena, including the smelter, casthouse, and a finishing facility.

Late last week, Goodfellow said those union members voted “overwhelmingly” to approve a strike. (He couldn't provide exact numbers.) That means if negotiations with Alcoa and Arconic don’t move forward, leaders from the United Steelworkers can make the call to send its members in Massena on strike.

There’s no guarantee things will get to that point: The last major strike at the Massena facility was in 1986. Aluminum workers authorized a strike at Alcoa in 2010, but it never actually happened.

"What [the vote] is supposed to tell people is, the union is unified and fighting for what they believe in," Goodfellow said. "They want a fair contract from Alcoa and Arconic."

Two companies, two contracts

So exactly why can’t both sides settle on a contract?

It’s partly because there are now two companies at the bargaining table. In every past negotiation with United Steelworkers, Alcoa was the only corporation involved. But Arconic — a manufacturer of airplane parts and house siding — spun off from the aluminum giant in 2016.

Now, two companies operate from the same Massena facility. Each corporation will have to sign a separate contract with the labor union. WWNY-TV has reported that Arconic, in particular, may be seeking cuts on workers' benefits, including health care and pensions.

At the same time, Arconic has been working aggressively to cut costs and to make itself more valuable for shareholders. Investment analysts say the company has spent $900 million this year on a stock buyback, intended to drive prices up.

Goodfellow said the union can't ignore that.

"To sit there and actually state that we need to give them breaks because they don’t have money to do things and it’s costing them too much money? In our eyes, it’s not fair," Goodfellow said. "We’re the ones making them the money. It’s them taking the profits and giving them to the investors."

Alcoa didn’t get back to NCPR in time for this story. In a statement Monday morning, an Arconic spokesperson told NCPR the company was aware of the strike authorization vote — which they described as "a normal step in the bargaining process. We firmly believe we can reach an agreement that is in the best interest of our employees and look forward to resuming negotiations at the bargaining table soon."

For now, Goodfellow says workers will continue to show up at the aluminum plants like normal, under the terms of their last contract.

This story has been updated with a statement from Arconic's spokesperson.