Ravenswood, WV -- In a last ditch effort, while facing a strike mandate, the United Steelworkers (USW) and Century Aluminum of West Virginia, Inc. reached a tentative agreement which was endorsed by the USW bargaining committee.

The parties returned to the bargaining table over the weekend after the union had submitted the required 72–hour strike notice to Century Aluminum. The membership had rejected the company’s ‘last, best and final offer’ on Friday by a vote of 299 to 218.  

USW District 8 Director Ernest “Billy” Thompson, who assisted with the negotiations, stated that he had remained cautiously optimistic throughout the talks but was pleasantly surprised when the company restructured its “final offer.”

Chief union negotiator Dean said, “There were many issues that were brought to the bargaining table and while all of them were not resolved, I’m confident that the membership, who are knowledgeable about the bargaining process, will recognize the hard work that was done by this negotiating committee.”

Dean added, “Today, more and mor