CHICAGO HEIGHTS | United Steelworkers Local 7234 may strike VAE Nortrak NA Inc. if the company fails to bargain in good faith toward an initial labor agreement, officials said Thursday.

Approximately 60 local members voted unanimously Saturday to authorize its bargaining committee to conduct the strike against the company's plant at 2705 S. State St., Chicago Heights, according to Salvador Aguilar, USW District 7 assistant director.

"The negotiating team will decide in the next few days when and if there will be a strike," he said.

The union and company, which manufacturers railroad switching and crossing components, have been negotiating a labor agreement since Nortrak purchased Meridian Rail Track Products Corp. in January 2004. The union and Meridian had amicable labor relations, Aguilar said.

Company officials did not return calls Thursday.

"This company has shown nothing but utter contempt for its employees," Aguilar said. "It's clear and evident to us they're trying not to get an agreement. They stall and make it hard to negotiate. People are tired of it and we may have to take action."

The union has met with the company every time the company has agreed to meet, Aguilar said.

"They seem to stall," he said. "There have been times when we believe we've been headed toward what's in the contract at their other USW shop in Pueblo, Colo., but they even refused that. They aren't clear what they want, except they want the right to decide who gets what job."

The union contends the company is "surface bargaining," bargaining with no real commitment to reach an agreement, Aguilar said.

Many of the work force are skilled craftsmen, and would be difficult to replace, he said.

"We don't want to hurt the customers, but they need to aware of what's going on."