PITTSBURGH - U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers announced a tentative agreement Sunday on a three-year contract covering more than 16,000 workers at domestic facilities.<br />
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Details of the contract were not announced. The union said members will vote after reviewing details over the next few weeks. The two sides had been negotiating since June on a contract to replace the existing pact, which expired Saturday.<br />
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US Steel said the talks covered employees at domestic flat-rolled and iron ore mining facilities as well as tubular operations in Lorain, Ohio and Fairfield, Ala.<br />
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"We believe that this agreement is in the best interests of our company, our employees and all of our stakeholders," John Surma, U.S. Steel chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.<br />
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The company separately announced a tentative agreement with the union covering about 1,000 workers at a welded tubular products facility in Lone Star, Texas.<br />
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The union said health care for retirees and how best to deal with the rising cost of that coverage was one of the most significant issues in this year's talks.<br />
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"Both sides worked hard to come up with a solution that continues to provide our current and future retirees with access to high-quality, low-cost medical care," said Tom Conway, USW International vice president, who led the union negotiating team.<br />
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The union has still not reached agreement with two other companies, ArcelorMittal and Cliffs Natural Resources.<br />
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The United Steelworkers said talks with Cliff's Natural Resources had broken off but would resume "at a future date not yet determined." In the meantime, a rolling contract extension would remain in place under which terms of the old contract would be renewed every 48 hours unless one of the parties indicates otherwise.<br />
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The union told ArcelorMittal workers to continue to report for shifts despite expiration of the contract Saturday, although officials said they had not sought a contract extension and the company had not offered one. The union said in a membership update that workers would continue to work under the terms of the current agreement while talks continue and "we continue to urge them to improve their current proposal."
