Mills
July 21, 2026
USW turns up heat in USS labor contract talks
Written by Kristen DiLandro
The United Steelworkers (USW) union cautioned its members from reading too deeply into negotiation updates provided through U.S. Steel’s corporate website on Monday.
Master contract negotiations began with U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs on July 20. In a USW text message update sent to members on the same day, the union lamented U.S. Steel’s decision to offer “highlights” from the discussions.
The union said USS neglected to include all the issues it was working to address with the steelmaker during its talks. It characterized USS’s update as “very misleading.”
USS pointed SMU to its proposal plan on Monday. The steelmaker did not comment on the union’s critique of its decision to post the update.
The USS website says it offered the union a new five-year labor agreement proposal. The highlights in the proposal include wage increases, no plans to change some pension programs, no plans to change its profit-sharing models, and promises that upon ratifying the contract that eligible employees will receive a $4,000 bonus.
According to the union’s message to members, the decision to post this information on its website broke with customary negotiation expectations.
“They sent their message out before our full Bargaining Committee, including your local union leadership, even got a chance to see it,” the USW said.
The union continued, “This isn’t typically how negotiations work, but unfortunately, it isn’t surprising from USS. We came to bargain the fair contract we deserve, and we’ll continue to work hard on our proposals and keep you updated.”
In another text message, the union said leaders were also meeting with Cleveland-Cliffs in Pittsburgh. The Cleveland-headquartered steelmaker did not respond to a request for comment.
