Corporate raider and former savings and loan (S&L) tycoon acquired both
Kaiser Aluminum and
Pacific Lumber Company in the 1980s using
junk bond financing. To help pay off these junk bonds,
Hurwitz sold or
closed half of Kaiser's plants. He then demanded wage and benefit
concessions, job cuts, and contracting out for union work. Hurwitz's demands
left the 3,000
United Steelworkers members with no choice other than to go
on strike in September of 1998. Increasing his anti-
labor, pro-greed stance,
Hurwitz hired "
scab" replacement workers and then locked-out the
Steelworkers on January 14, 1999. The lockout (which is one of the longest and largest in US labor history) continues to this day.