Louisville, Kentucky — The United Steelworkers union says it is preparing a counterproposal on behalf of more than 16,000 US Steel union workers that will include “real wage increases” after dismissing the company’s latest “sleight of hand” offer this week as inadequate.
Meghan Cox, spokeswoman for Pittsburgh-based US Steel, said in a statement this week the company’s revised six-year proposal “reflects the ongoing dialogue during our most recent round of negotiations.”
She said the offer includes an overall 14% base wage hike, including 4% this September, and 2% each in the following five Septembers covered by the proposed deal.
It also includes $10,000 in cash payments contingent upon ratification of the agreement by September 22.
The company, she said, “strongly believes” the proposal posted to the US Steel website is in the best interest of all the company’s stakeholders.
But the union, whose members voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a strike against US Steel, disagrees.
In a Wednesday release to its members, the USW denounced the proposal as “another clumsy and bad-faith attempt to try to influence everyone’s first impression and undermine your bargaining committee.”
The USW disputed the offer’s alleged benefit to workers, saying US Steel is hoping to convince them to accept an inferior health-care plan in the latest labor contract.
The updated wage proposal also is misleading, the union said.
“So they took the 1% from the previously proposed increases in years two and three and slid it back to years four and five and then seemingly added another 1% to their last offer,” the union said. “It’s important, though, to understand the time value of money and realize that they’ll save money by keeping the 1% longer before it goes into our paychecks. After sorting everything out, we believe this is essentially the same or [an] even less costly wage proposal to them.”
- Author：Bob Matyi
- Editor：Keiron Greenhalgh
- Commodity：Metals
