PITTSBURGH, Sept. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that the union has reached tentative agreement on a new, three year contract with ArcelorMittal USA on behalf of nearly 14,000 workers at 15 of the company's U.S. locations.
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"After ten long weeks of difficult negotiations that continued past the expiration of our previous contract, the hard work of our committee has resulted in a tentative agreement with ArcelorMittal," said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. "Our members' unwavering solidarity throughout the bargaining process in the face of management's high-risk scare tactics and demands for major cutbacks has been rewarded."
USW District 1 Director David McCall, who chairs the USW's negotiations with ArcelorMittal, said that although negotiations have concluded, the battle for justice and dignity on the shop floor and the fight for a more secure future for ArcelorMittal's workers and retirees will continue.
"After surviving the worst economic crisis in generations, our committee came to Pittsburgh seeking to improve the long-term viability and sustainability of the company and our jobs," McCall said. "Instead of building on the strength of our partnership, ArcelorMittal management nearly destroyed it with proposal after proposal of sweeping, unnecessary contract changes and demands for major economic concessions."
"We are proud that we preserved our wages, benefits and contractual protections for seniority as well as maintaining the limits of work done by outside contractors," McCall said.
USW District 7 Director Jim Robinson, who served as secretary of the negotiating committee, added that members will remember the solidarity built during the past ten weeks when the USW next enters negotiations with ArcelorMittal in 2015.
"Our members' solidarity enabled us to fend off these serious attacks by the company," Robinson said. "This contract puts us in good strategic position to succeed in the future."
More information, contact: Tony Montana (412) 562-2592; tmontana@usw.org
SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)
