AMU: Labor agreement timelines converge in US aluminum

It’s worthwhile to outline how collective bargaining agreements generally function before and after expiration, then review company-specific situations based on publicly available statements from companies and unions.

Collective bargaining processes before and after contract expiration

Collective bargaining agreements in heavy manufacturing are commonly negotiated on a fixed term, often three to five years. As an agreement approaches expiration, bargaining often begins months in advance. While negotiations proceed, the parties often maintain prior terms under status quo obligations or through formal extensions.

If negotiations stall, outcomes can vary.

In some environments, tentative agreements are reached and ratified without operational disruption. In others, especially where cost pressures, staffing levels, scheduling practices, or jurisdictional questions are central, negotiations can extend beyond expiration or result in work stoppages.

The presence or absence of a master agreement also matters. A master structure can align wages and benefits across multiple facilities while leaving certain site-specific provisions to local bargaining.

Site-specific agreements, by contrast, concentrate risk and timing at the individual plant level.

In aluminum manufacturing, negotiations take place in alongside trade protections, fluctuating input costs, and shifting demand across end markets. These factors do not determine outcomes, but they strongly influence bargaining positions and can shape the context in which proposals are evaluated.

Companies operating under a master agreement structure

Arconic

Arconic operates under a four-year master agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) that was announced in May 2022 and is scheduled to expire in May. Public union communications indicate bargaining has begun at certain Arconic facilities ahead of broader master agreement discussions.

A January update from USW Local 309 covering Arconic’s Knoxville, Tenn., operations stated local bargaining sessions had started, and union representatives planned to travel later in the month to begin work on master contract proposals. The update also noted the company had not yet presented proposals during the initial local sessions.

Alcoa

Alcoa operates under a master agreement covering its US smelters at Warrick, Indiana and Massena, New York. That three-year agreement was ratified in May 2023 after the prior contract expired earlier that month, with employees continuing to work under existing terms during the ratification process.

The agreement also sets wage and benefit terms for certain USW-represented employees at Alcoa’s Lake Charles, La., calcining facility, while reserving other provisions for separate local negotiation. Based on the 2023 ratification data, the current master agreement will reach the end of its term this year.

Kaiser

Kaiser Aluminum’s Newark, Oh., and Spokane, Wa., (Trentwood) facilities operate under a five-year agreement ratified in late 2019 and effective from October 2020 through September 2025. That agreement includes both economic terms and governance provisions, including board nomination rights for the union.

With the contract term ended in 2025, any successor agreement would be negotiated in or around the current year, depending on when formal bargaining begins.

Companies operating under a site-specific structure

Century

Century Aluminum’s Hawesville, Ky., smelter operates under a site-specific agreement rather than a master structure. The five-year contract, ratified in April 2021, runs until April 1 and covers roughly 350 hourly workers represented by USW Local 9423. Because the agreement is confined to a single facility, its expiration concentrates negotiation timing and outcomes at Hawesville rather than across a broader network.

Constellium

Constellium’s Muscle Shoals, Ala., facility ratified a five-year agreement in January 2021 following an unfair labor practice strike, after negotiations continued beyond the prior contract’s November 2020 expiration. That agreement would therefore approach expiration in early 2026.

Separately, Constellium’s Ravenswood, W.V., facility’s site-specific labor agreement that ran from Sept. 19, 2022, through Sept. 19, 2025.

Public disclosures do not indicate whether a successor agreement or formal extension has been ratified, and operations may be continuing under the terms of the expired contract while bargaining proceeds.

Hydro

Hydro Extrusions’ Portland, Or., operations ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement in July 2022, following the expiration of the prior contract. That agreement reached the end of its term on June 1, 2025. Union communications indicate negotiations continued leading up to and immediately following the expiration date, including a membership vote authorizing a strike as bargaining proceeded. As of the most recent publicly available update, no ratified successor agreement has been announced.

Why timing matters this year

Agreements negotiated on three-, four-, and five-year cycles are now reaching expiration at roughly the same time. Several agreements expire in 2026. Others that expired recently have negotiations ongoing or unresolved publicly. Some facilities are already in early bargaining phases.

For aluminum producers, that overlap coincides with an operating environment shaped by trade protections, multi-year high aluminum prices, an all-time high Midwest premium, cost pass-through mechanisms, and uneven demand across end markets. The effects of these negotiations may not be immediately visible, but their cumulative presence could become more apparent as the year progresses.