Steel Mills
USW Goes on Strike at ATI
Written by Michael Cowden
March 30, 2021
The United Steelworkers (USW) union has gone on strike at nine Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) facilities.
The strike started at 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 30, over what the USW contends are “unfair labor practices.”
The union represents approximately 1,300 workers at ATI, and it says they have not had a wage increase since 2014.
“Through generations of hard work and dedication, Steelworkers at ATI have earned and deserve the security of a union contract,” USW International Vice President (Administration) David McCall said in a statement. McCall also chairs the USW’s negotiations with ATI. “We cannot allow the company to use the global pandemic as an excuse to reverse decades of collective bargaining progress,” he said.
ATI, in hopes of averting a strike, on Monday night offered a 9% wage increase and premium-free healthcare, a company spokeswoman said.
“With such a generous offer on the table … we are disappointed for this action, especially at such an economically challenging time for ATI,” she said.
ATI makes specialty metals and complex components and has been exposed to an aerospace sector hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company swung to a $1.57 billion loss in 2020 after recording net income of $257.6 million in 2019 in what the spokeswoman has said was “one of the worst years in company history.”
But the main impact of the strike, as it relates to the carbon flat-rolled steel market, is any impact it might have on ATI’s hot rolling and processing facility (HRPF) at Brackenridge, Pa.
ATI toll rolls carbon slabs into coil at the facility for a handful of third-party customers, including not only certain domestic mills but also slab importers.
There might be little impact on the market because the state-of-the-art Brackenridge HRPF can be run with a small staff and because it might have been processing only limited slab volumes ahead of the strike, some market participants said. Indeed, some said they had been informed there would be limited or no interruption in output from Brackenridge despite the labor action.
Still, it was not immediately clear what the impact of the strike at Brackenridge might be as of Tuesday.
“We remain dedicated to serving our customers and continuing to safely operate in the manner necessary to deliver our commitments with as little interruption as possible. We have activated our business continuity plan deploying our non-represented employees and temporary replacement workers,” the spokeswoman said.
She declined to comment on the status of operations at Brackenridge specifically.
ATI and the USW started negotiations in early January. Union members had been working under the terms of a previous contract that expired on Feb. 28. The USW gave notice of its intent to strike late last week.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor breaks ground on new Berkeley galv line
Nucor broke ground on a new galvanizing line at its Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C., on Thursday, May 2.
USS, Nippon merger delayed by DOJ antitrust review
The sale of U.S. Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp. has been delayed by the US Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation. The Justice Department, which is conducting an antitrust review of the merger, has requested additional information from both USS and NSC. The companies originally anticipated closing the sale in the second or third quarter […]
U.S. Steel Q1 earnings slip, BRS expansions proceed
U.S. Steel posted slightly lower Q1’24 earnings as stronger earnings from its sheet mills were partially offset by a weaker performance from it tubular division. All told, the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker reported Q1’24 earnings of $171 million. That's down 14.1% from $199 million in Q1’23 on sales that fell 6.9% to $4.16 billion in the same comparison.
ArcelorMittal says Calvert CR outage over, floats buying Nippon’s stake in JV
ArcelorMittal posted a narrower Q1’24 profit compared to Q1’23 but remained optimistic about steel's long-term demand prospects.
SMU Community Chat: Hybar’s ambitious plans as newest player in rebar
Hybar has big plans for entering the American steel market. Although it is the newest player in the US rebar market, the startup is led by an experienced, nimble, and ambitious team, and backed by investors with deep pockets. Industry titan and Hybar CEO David Stickler joined SMU Managing Editor Michael Cowden on Wednesday’s Community Chat to update the SMU community on the company’s first mill, and its grand plans for the future.