Steel Mills
USW Receives New Contract Proposal from US Steel
Written by Sandy Williams
December 12, 2015
The United Steelworkers Bargaining Committee will return to Pittsburgh to review a new comprehensive contract proposal received from US Steel. Discussions during the past six months have bogged down over health care concessions that the company says are necessary to stay competitive under challenging market conditions.
The Bargaining Committee plans to resume discussions next week to decide what steps to take next.
US Steel union members have been working under the terms of previous contract that expired September 1, 2015.
In an update to the membership the Committee said, “As you know, our discussions with U.S. Steel over the past six months have involved continued demands for deep concessions from both active and retired workers and their families. We know that our industry is in the midst of a serious crisis brought on by unfair trade and global overcapacity, but we do not believe that workers and their families should be forced to bear the brunt of these problems.”
The Bargaining Committee said it looks forward to reviewing the new proposal and hopes it will be a departure from the company’s “onerous demands” that “will move us closer to an agreement that is fair to both sides.”
The committee urged workers who are suffering economic hardship from layoffs to seek help from USW local leadership and the AFL-CIO Union Plus program.
“This holiday season, we know that many of our sisters and brothers and their families are suffering from layoffs, threats of layoffs and idled plants, and that there is no worse time of year for things like this to happen. We will continue to do everything in our power to address these problems through every avenue we have available to us.”
Sandy Williams
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