Members Ratify New Contract at US Steel

Members Ratify New Contract

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(February 3) – The strength and solidarity of the USW membership was the driving force behind the ratification of our new contract on February 1. The bargaining committee owes a big “thank you” and a debt of gratitude to all of you for standing beside us for many months as we fought back against the company’s demands for deep concessions.

A few days ago, we ratified a three-year contract with U.S. Steel by a 2-to-1 margin. We know that this contract is not perfect, and we know that a number of our brothers and sisters and families are still suffering the effects of the crisis that has gripped our industry. We believe this was by far the best agreement we could hope for in this environment. It is a contract that will allow us and the company to work together to address our common issues and put us a position for future success. We will once again need the entire USW membership fighting alongside us as we work to address the unfairness in our trade system.

In the words of our International President Leo W. Gerard: “The past year has been a difficult one for the steel industry, for USW members and for manufacturing towns all across this country. The key to weathering this crisis is not to attack each other, but to work together to find solutions to our common problems - namely the severe imbalance and unfairness in our trade system. This must be our shared goal as we move forward.”

Every USW member should be proud of the way we stood together to turn back the company’s most onerous demands. If you recall our initial exchange last June, U.S. Steel was determined to gut our contracts, force us to pay thousands of dollars more for our health care, and turn back the clock on dozens of other parts of our contract that took decades of solidarity for our brothers and sisters to build. Together, we stood up and said no.

“I am extremely proud of the solidarity and the commitment to fairness that the Steelworkers showed throughout this process,” said USW International Vice President Tom Conway. “These hard-working men and women were determined not to be made scapegoats for what is a global crisis.”

District 7 Director Mike Millsap, who served as secretary of our bargaining committee, said: “We are proud of the productive relationship we’ve built with U.S. Steel. We hope to build on it as we move forward from what has been a very challenging year.”

In Solidarity,
Your U.S. Steel Bargaining Committee

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