The 25-day-old strike at a Washington County manufacturer will go into day 26.

There was no agreement after two hours of talks Wednesday afternoon between Eramet and the united steelworkers union.

That means the company will continue to operate with salaried employees and some outside replacement workers.

With the dispute in the middle of its fourth week, some replacement workers have been supplementing more than 100 salaried Eramet employees in keeping production going.

"We have about 30 replacement workers right now, filling in gaps as we need them," said company spokesman Ethan Frank-Collins.

When asked if the strike went on another month or beyond, Frank-Collins answered: "We've performed admirably so far, and, for the forseeable future, we're in good shape."

Replacement workers, however, have been a sore subject for unions in previous labor disputes at local manufacturing plants. At Eramet, the United Steelworkers Union says when there is a settlement, if the replacements are still there, union workers won't be.

"Those people who are in there, those replacements, have to go," said Denny Longwell, staff representative for U.S.W. District 1.
"They don't deserve to be there, we do. We want to go back to work. That plant belongs to us. Those jobs belong to us."

Longwell notes the strike isn't just hurting Eramet or the union employees. It's also hurting the community.

Frank-Collins says that no new negotiations have been scheduled.