USWA Solidarity Leads To ArcelorMittal Contract
PITTSBURGH (PAI)--Overwhelming union solidarity--symbolized by a strike
authorization vote the week before--pushed ArcelorMittal, one of the nation’s
biggest steel firms, to settle a new 4-year contract with the Steel Workers on
Aug. 30.
The pact, reached in a long day of bargaining that covers 14,000 workers in 16
U.S. plants, came just two days before the walkout was set to start, at 12:01
a.m., on Labor Day.
Local union leaders at the steel maker’s plants voted 15-1 to recommend it to
their members, with the only dissent coming from the president of Lackawanna,
N.Y., Local 2604. He could not save his plant from shutdown, though his 217
members get relocation rights and funds to shift to nearby plants in Canada.
ArcelorMittal, which is European-based and Indian-owned, includes former plants
owned by Bethlehem Steel, LTV, Inland Steel, Acme and other firms. USWA had
worked closely with ArcelorMittal over the past several years to both buy the
bankrupt U.S. steel makers and to modernize plants while making sure they kept running.
Company commitment to continuing modernization--at least $3 billion in this new
contract--needed in worldwide competition, is a key section of the new contract,
USWA President Leo Gerard and other union negotiators said. The ArcelorMittal
pact was patterned on one USWA reached earlier with U.S. Steel.
“Members and retirees at ArcelorMittal now have the opportunity to enjoy the
employment security, economic security, and retirement security they earned
through years of hard work and sacrifice,” Gerard said.
Bargaining chair David McCall, USWA’s District I director, said “The solidarity
of the union membership during the past four months of negotiations, and
especially over the past several days, was absolutely key to achieving fairness
at the bargaining table.
“We believe ratification of the proposed agreement is a major step toward
raising the industry standard in wages, benefits, and other contractual
protections without sacrificing the long-term viability of ArcelorMittal in a competitive market,” he
added.
Details of the pact include:
* A $6,000-per-worker signing bonus and raises of $1 an hour retroactive to
Sept. 1, and 4% yearly in Sept. 2009, 2010 and 2011. Profit-sharing will now
start with the first dollar of U.S. profits. Sickness and accident pay will be
70% of base pay.
* A $100-per-month-per-year-worked increase, on Jan. 1, in the company
contribution to the main pension plan at the plants, the Steelworker Pension
Trust. The defined benefit plan for former Inland Steel workers also increases.
* Company contributions of $70 per month for pre-Medicare eligible retirees, and
of $35 per month for Medicare-eligible ones, fixed for the life of the contract.
* Company contributions of $25 million per quarter to the Voluntary Employee
Benefit Association Trust Fund, used to continue to provide benefits for
retirees of Acme, Bethlehem, and LTV.
USWA Local 6787 President Paul Gipson, of Chesterton, Ind., called the new pact “a pattern-plus contract” in an interview with local papers. He told USWA
after bargaining ended that he had been planning to retire, but changed his
mind.
“I’m not even going to retire now. I’m going to sit back and enjoy this
contract. I’m loving it,” Gipson said.