The United Steelworkers (USW) ratified a new thirty seven month contract with Cliffs Natural Resources (CNR) covering USW members at Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite, Empire Iron Mining Partnership and the Tilden Mining Company which are located in Minnesota and Michigan.
The Union and CNR reached a tentative agreement on October 11, 2012 and have been conducting the ratification process over the last 3 weeks with our members.
The new contract provides 4.5% wage increases with an additional $4,250 in bonuses through the term of the agreement. The new agreement preserves the current health care for active members and continues to provide retiree health care for our retirees and surviving spouses.
“This is an agreement that ensures a stable future for our members, retirees, and the company,” said USW District 11 Director Robert Bratulich, who was the chairman of the union negotiating committee. “Our members should be proud of the work their negotiating committees did during this round of bargaining.
The USW represents about 850,000 workers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean in a wide variety of industries, ranging from mining, health care, paper, steel, glassmaking, tire and rubber, public sector and service industries.
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