Steel Mills

USW says no progress made in meeting with Nippon Steel

March 7, 2024

At the request of Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC), the United Steelworkers (USW) union met with the Japanese steelmaker in person today to discuss Nippon’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel.

No progress was made in the discussions, which lasted less than an hour, the union said in a letter to members after the meeting.

While NSC “offered more promises and commitments,” USW said the company didn’t provide it with anything enforceable.

Echoing statements made last week, the union said that “Nippon has still not earned the trust of the USW.”

“With the future of our plants, jobs, benefits, and communities all at stake, Nippon’s bare commitments simply don’t hold water, which makes them an unqualified successor to USS,” said the letter signed by USW International President David McCall and Chairman of the Negotiating Committee Mike Millsap.

In a statement sent to SMU, NSC said that, in the meeting, it “provided the USW with specific commitments, which we believe address each of the union’s concerns that have been raised in our working sessions to date, including job security, capital investment, and technology sharing.”

“We would expect these commitments to be memorialized in legally binding documents once we reach an agreement with the USW,” it added.

NSC said it “has deep respect for the unionized employees at U.S. Steel.” It looks forward to continuing the conversation with the USW and to “finding common ground in our efforts to transform U.S. Steel into a world-leading steelmaker.”

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. Since 2007, she has held various editorial and marketing positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills. In 2021, after a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel trade journalism, joining SMU in 2022. 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.