USW International President McCall Moves to Dismiss U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel Lawsuit Trampling Fundamental Free Speech Rights

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, jkamm@usw.org

PITTSBURGH —TheUnited Steelworkers (USW) union today announced that International President David McCall filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel in the Western District of Pennsylvania. 

U.S. Steel and Nippon sued President McCall, along with steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs and its CEO on January 6, just three days after President Joe Biden ordered U.S. Steel and Nippon to permanently abandon their merger plan following a comprehensive review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

U.S. Steel and Nippon complained that by speaking out forcefully against the merger, President McCall and by extension, the USW had violated federal anti-trust laws and Pennsylvania state tort laws for interference with contract.

For more than a year, the USW engaged in a public campaign to warn elected officials in Washington D.C., and the American public about the national and economic security risks associated with Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel.

“U.S. Steel and Nippon launched a frivolous and unsubstantiated attack on our union simply for exercising our First Amendment rights,” the union said. “It is both our right and our responsibility to speak out against the kinds of mergers that U.S. Steel and Nippon were proposing – a sale that would have hurt both our members and our national security. This includes lobbying our elected officials at all levels of government and is a fundamental protection for all Americans.”

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in tech, public sector and service occupations.

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