Steel Mills

Cleveland-Cliffs Reaches Tentative New Deal With USW

Written by David Schollaert

August 27, 2022

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) on a new, four-year labor contract, the company and the union said on Saturday, Aug. 27.

The agreement is pending ratification by the USW local union members, who are likely to vote in the coming days on the pact negotiated by the bargaining committee.

The new deal is effective Sept. 1 but does not go into effect unless a majority of the 12,000 union members represented under the new bargaining agreement vote in favor of it.

The new contract will cover the following Cleveland-Cliffs facilities:

  • Local 6787: Burns Harbor, Ind. – sheet and plate mill
  • Local 979: Cleveland, Ohio – 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

Not included under this agreement are Cliffs’ Dearborn Works in Michigan and Rockport Works in Indiana, both represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW).

“Our employees are the heart and soul of Cleveland-Cliffs,” said Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO. “The USW is a partner and an ally, and we look forward to sharing in our future success together.”

The Cleveland-based steelmaker said that this new agreement allows them to do just that “while keeping our cost structure highly competitive.”

USW leadership also cheered the tentative deal. “The proposed contract provides important economic and contract language improvements that will improve working conditions along with the standard of living for USW members and their families,” USW International vice president (administration) David McCall said in a statement. McCall chaired negotiations with Cliffs.

The union said in an update to members that perks of the tentative pact include a commitment by Cliffs to invest $4 billion in its USW-represented facilities over the life of the contract.

The USW said that investment would increase job security. The contract also improves pay and benefits. The union said the agreement increased base wages by more than 20% over current pay rates. (See table below from the USW.)

USW pay table Cliffs deal

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMaketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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