Steel Product Producers

Cliffs, USW Reach Tentative Labor Pact at Northshore Mining Ops

Written by Laura Miller

August 30, 2023

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) at Cliffs’ Northshore Mine in Minnesota have reached a tentative labor agreement.

Pending ratification by the union, the new three-year labor agreement will cover 430 USW-represented workers at the mine.

The workers there mine taconite in Babbitt, Minn., make iron ore pellets in Silver Bay, Minn., and transport products and tailings.

“The United Steelworkers have demonstrated their unwavering support of Cleveland-Cliffs throughout the years, and this new labor agreement for Northshore further strengthens our collaborative partnership. We look forward to working together with our new USW partners at Northshore and continuing to build a strong workforce for our present and future competitiveness,” Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement.

Recall that Cliffs called back workers to the previously idled Northshore mining operations earlier this year. And in July, workers there joined the USW.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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