USW files grievances related to U.S. Steel sale
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The United Steelworkers union has filed grievances alleging Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel violated its contract with the union when it entered into an agreement to be acquired by Nippon Steel Corp. last month.
The filing was made by the International Union, as well as several local unions, including Local 2695, which represents workers at U.S. Steel’s operation in Gary.
The union said the filing was made to enforce its right under the successorship clause of its Basic Labor Agreement with U.S. Steel.
U.S. Steel and Nippon announced the nearly $15 billion sale in December. The union previously outlined its concerns with the deal earlier this month, and just prior to filing its grievances, demanded a meeting with U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt over the alleged contract violations.
In a letter to members posted Friday, the union said the steelmaker has violated its contract in “a number of ways,” and the successorship clause was negotiated “to protect our contracts and our members in precisely this situation.”
“These rights are enforceable guarantees that a company seeking to buy our facilities cannot shirk its responsibilities to workers and retirees,” the union said. “Commitments like pensions, profit sharing, capital expenditures, retiree health care and more are all part of the compensation we negotiated in bargaining our contract. Anyone who wants to acquire our facilities must have both the intent and the financial capacity to honor them.”
The union said it did not agree to the arrangement that Houston-based holding company Nippon Steel North America would assume the union’s labor, pension, retiree, and other agreements.
There was also no information provided, according to the union, regarding the financial wherewithal of the holding company to be able to support the existing agreements.
“The USW is prepared to continue this grievance process all the way to its conclusion as we hold management accountable for trying to cash in by selling out American Steelworkers and its shocking disregard for our contracts and its dedicated workforce,” the union said.
U.S. Steel spokesperson Amanda Malkowski provided the following statement to Inside INdiana Business in response to the union’s filing.
“U.S. Steel complied with its obligations under the Basic Labor Agreements, and we expect to work through and favorably resolve any grievances filed by the USW as quickly as possible,” Malkowski said. “Our USW-represented employees are an integral part of our operations, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the USW and support our employees.”
U.S. Steel founded the city of Gary in Indiana with its Gary Works operation that at one time employed some 30,000 people. The steelmaker also operates the Midwest Plant in Portage.