Steel Mills

USW To Begin Master Negotiations With Cleveland-Cliffs in Mid-July

Written by Michael Cowden

June 30, 2022

The United Steelworkers (USW) is preparing to start master contract bargaining with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in mid-July, according to communications sent to union members.

Local union chapters will send representatives to the master negotiations, which are being held in Pittsburgh.

USWThe USW’s current labor pact with the Cleveland-based steelmaker expires on Sept. 1.

Talks will focus on (among other things) pay, healthcare, pensions, profit sharing, and job security, the union said.

The master contract negotiations cover the locations below. Also listed is what products those operations make:

• Local 6787: Burns Harbor, Ind. – sheet and plate mill

• Local 979: Cleveland – sheet mill

• Local 1165: Coatesville, Pa. – plate mill

• Local 9462: Conshohocken, Pa. – plate finishing

• Local 1010: Indiana Harbor East, East Chicago, Ind. – sheet mill

• Local 1011: Indiana Harbor West, East Chicago, Ind. – sheet mill

• Local 1010: Riverdale, Ill. – compact hot strip mill

• Local 1688L Steelton, Pa. – rail mill

• Local 6115: Minorca Mines, Minn. – iron ore

• Local 1375: Warren Coke, Ohio – coke

• Local 2911: Weirton, W.Va. – tinplate

Recall that Cliffs’ Indiana Harbor steel mill has operations on both the east and west sides of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal. Each side is represented by a different union. Recall, too, that Riverdale receives its hot metal via specialized torpedo cars sent across the Illinois-Indiana state line from Indiana Harbor.

Not all of Cliffs’ mills are represented by the USW. The company’s Dearborn Works in Michigan, for example, is represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) as is its Rockport Works in Indiana.

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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