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United Steelworkers authorizes strike against ArcelorMittal

United Steelworkers authorizes strike against ArcelorMittal

Via a report from POLITICO, the United Steelworkers union today authorized its negotiating party to initiate a strike against ArcelorMittal, the multinational steel company.

The union maintains that ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel, with whom it’s been in contentious contract negotiations, have been unwilling to share profits from President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel together account for 40 percent of flat-rolled steel production.

“Now that [ArcelorMittal] is generating enormous — even historic — amounts of cash, it is an insult that bargaining progress has been hindered by management’s unrealistic concessionary demands and unfair labor practices,” said United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard in a written statement.

An ArcelorMittal spokeswoman noted that the parties signed an extension agreement for the previous contract, which expired Sept. 1.

“Talks continue this week and we continue to work diligently to reach a mutually agreeable conclusion,” the spokeswoman said in an email. “Further, our plants continue to operate in a safe and orderly fashion.”

The strike vote came from more than a dozen local unions representing about 15,000 workers.