Work, Join, Win Together: ArcelorMittal

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For generations, the USW has struggled to make jobs in the steel industry safer and more secure, but our achievements only came through the power of union solidarity and only after generations of tireless dedication and sacrifice.

At the facilities currently owned by ArcelorMittal USA, our hard work, training and experience make us the most efficient steel production work force in the world, and we have earned contracts that provide fair wages and benefits, safe working conditions and dignity on the shop floor.

As it has done before, ArcelorMittal will seek to reduce its financial obligations to USW members and retirees in 2018 and beyond – yet will expect greater commitment and flexibility from its hourly workers.

In our contract negotiations, management will attempt to reverse decades of progress by focusing on a short-term business plan and nearsightedly obsessing over the company’s stock performance rather than investing in its work force and our facilities to ensure the long-term viability of our plants and the jobs that we rely upon to feed our families and sustain our communities.

Our ability to achieve our bargaining goals while resisting management’s regressive demands now – as always – depends on the unity and solidarity of Steelworkers company-wide.

Solidarity: Management Must Respect Strength

Since winning our first industry contracts in the 1930s and 1940s through today, Steelworkers have turned jobs that were once looked upon with scorn into dignified careers at facilities that form the backbone of our communities.

Between 1998 and 2002, when 50 North American companies went bankrupt as a result of unfair and often illegal foreign trade combined with terrible mismanagement, USW members lead the fight to save our plants, communities and jobs – and to restore some health care benefits to tens of thousands of retirees who had lost them in bankruptcy court.

The innovative contract we negotiated with ISG in 2002 made possible the resurgence of the industry. Its flexibility and the productivity of Steelworkers later allowed ArcelorMittal to survive the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Through our commitment to respect the past while building a more secure future, we have made the steel industry a world leader in safety, productivity and environmental responsibility. Through lean markets and booms in the industry, we have continued to fight for our jobs because they are worth it.

Our strength and leverage to negotiate fair contracts with the largest and most powerful corporations in the world comes directly from the unity and solidarity of our membership.

The USW negotiating committee is determined to meet whatever challenges the company lays before us in these negotiations, and through the efforts of each and every ArcelorMittal steelworker, our jobs will remain worth the struggle! 

Master Contract Locations

Burns Harbor
IN Local 6787

Cleveland
OH Local 979

Coatesville
PA Local 1165

Conshohocken
PA Local 9462

Indiana Harbor East
IN Local 1010

Indiana Harbor West
IN Local 1011

Riverdale
IL Local 1010

Steelton
PA Local 1688

Minorca Mine
MN Local 6115

Warren Coke
OH Local 1375-07

Weirton
WV Local 2911

Other Locations in Negotiations

Columbus Coatings
OH Local 9309

Columbus Processing
OH Local 2342-01

Indiana Harbor East
IN Local 1010 O&T

I/N Tek and I/N Kote
IN Local 9231

Steel Industry Milestones

1936: First contract in the steel industry introduces seniority to protect against favoritism

1938: For the first time, wages are protected when the industry goes into recession

1949: First pensions negotiated

1952: Parity on wages won for the Iron Range

1956: Right to refuse unsafe work without penalty for the first time

1962: First prohibition on discrimination based on race, color, religious creed or national origin

1963: First limitations on contracting out

1986: Modern pattern contracting out language introduced

1987: Local 1011 strikes against LTV Steel to save retiree health care

1997-2001: Union leads successful fight for steel tariffs to stop import dumping and save the industry

2001: LTV Steel shuts down – Bethlehem in bankruptcy

2002: ISG contract paves the way for purchase of Acme and Bethlehem assets while preserving workers’ wages and benefits

2008-2012: Strong USW contract prevents ArcelorMittal from slashing wages and benefits during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression while successfully integrating the former Weirton Steel facility into our master agreement

2012: Fought the company’s attempts to destroy generations of collective bargaining progress, forcing management to respect our past and secure our future

2015: Resisted attempts to create division within and between the local unions representing ArcelorMittal Steelworkers and maintained or improved benefits and provisions the company had sought to reduce or eliminate

2018: The future is ours!