Trending
MARQUETTE -- United Steelworkers local 4974 announced on Thursday that they had reached agreement on a tentative four-year pact with Cleveland-Cliffs for Hibbing, Utac, North Shore and Tilden mines.
"Your bargaining committee will be returning home tomorrow," said the announcement, which was posted on Facebook. "Look for more informational meetings and ratification votes."
USW has been in active contract negotiations with Cliffs since the beginning of August. At a USW rally last week, USW District 1 Staff Representative Brian Fisher called those negotiations "somewhat difficult." At that time, Fisher said that wages, healthcare and profit sharing were still on the table.
Neither the company nor the union would disclose provisions of the tentative agreement. However, Lourenco Goncalves, chairman and chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs, told Yahoo Finance: “Our USW-represented employees do work that is essential to Cleveland-Cliffs and to our country. These agreements recognize their contributions and give us the stability we need to invest, compete and continue strengthening American steelmaking. We greatly value our partnership with the USW and its leadership, whose constructive approach allowed us to reach agreements that benefit our employees and Cliffs.”
Yahoo Finance reported the agreements cover approximately 12,000 USW-represented employees across the company’s steel plants and mining operations in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Michigan. The agreements resolve all USW labor contracts currently up for renewal.
Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.