Steel Mills

NLMK USA, USW Reach Tentative Labor Deal

Written by Michael Cowden

February 18, 2021

NLMK USA has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers at its operations in western Pennsylvania, according to both company and union leaders. If ratified, the pact would bring an end to a strike that began nearly six months ago.

NLMK

“We reached a tentative agreement today. … We are optimistic that today’s actions will lead to a ratification vote,” NLMK USA President and CEO Robert D. Miller said in an email.

USW District 10 Staff Representative Todd Clary confirmed that the union had reached an agreement with the steelmaker. He did not provide further comment.

USW District 10 includes the state of Pennsylvania. Workers at Local 1016-3, which represents more than 400 employees at NLMK USA’s Pennsylvania operations, have been on strike since Aug. 22.

NLMK USA operates an electric-arc furnace mill in Portage, Ind., in addition to its slab-rerolling and downstream sheet processing operations in Pennsylvania.

The company has continued production in Pennsylvania with salaried staff as well as replacement workers, but is not able to run as many shifts as it could with a full contingent of hourly workers.

And NLMK USA’s financial performance suffered in the fourth quarter because of the one-two punch of the labor action and shortage of duty-free slabs. The company to date has been unable to fully capitalize on record steel prices.

Steel Market Update’s average hot-rolled coil price stands at $1,200 per ton ($60/cwt), a new all-time high. That figure is up 18.8% from $1,010 per ton in early January and up 172.7% from a 2020 low, recorded in August, of $440 per ton.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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