US Steel and Union to Reconvene to Discuss Nippon Acquisition
United Steelworkers Union says they have ‘received personal assurances that President Joe Biden’ has their backs.
U. S. Steel representatives met Friday with the United Steelworkers Union (USW) about the proposed $14 billion sale of U. S. Steel to Japan-based Nippon Steel in regards to the union’s recent grievance filings.
It was a “second step grievance meeting” where the merits of the grievances were discussed.
“While there was no resolution reached during the meeting, U. S. Steel will continue to participate in the process, maintaining that we not only complied with all requirements under the Basic Labor Agreements, but also that the proposed acquisition by Nippon Steel is the best path forward for all employees,” the company said in a statement. “We are confident the deal will provide increased certainty in the future of American steelmaking.”
Union representatives told members they had communicated with the White House about enforcing USW contracts with U.S. Steel and its national security concerns regarding the proposed sale to Nippon.
“We received personal assurances that President Joe Biden has our backs. He’s long demonstrated his commitment to American workers and our union, and we’re grateful for his close attention to this situation,” the union told members.
USW started the grievance process last month to enforce the successorship clause built into its basic labor agreements.
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The grievances allege U.S. Steel violated union contracts when it entered into a sale agreement with an affiliate of Nippon Steel Corp.
“A company seeking to buy our facilities cannot shirk its responsibilities to workers and retirees. Commitments like pensions, profit sharing, capital expenditures, retiree health care and more are all part of the compensation we negotiated in bargaining our contract,” the grievance letter reads. “Any company that wishes to acquire U.S. Steel must have the intent and the financial capacity to honor the contracts.”
US Company to Handle Union Contracts
Nippon Steel is a global corporation based in Tokyo, the communication explained, but instead of taking on the union’s contracts, Nippon will have its Houston-based holding company, Nippon Steel North America (NSNA), assume the USW labor, pension, retiree benefits, and other agreements.
“Our successorship clause protects us against having our contracts pushed down to subsidiary companies,” the union told members. “Unlike U.S. Steel today, NSNA does not report its financial results publicly, leaving us with no proof of NSNA’s financial wherewithal to meet its obligations to active and retired USW members.”
The union indicated that Nippon Steel has promised that NSNA will stand behind the contract, but the union says it bargained for a contract that protects them from this situation.
Speaking after a meeting with the Teamsters Union this week, former President Donald Trump said he would block the deal “instantaneously.”
“We saved the steel industry. Now, U.S. Steel is being bought by Japan. So terrible,” Mr. Trump said.
President Biden’s national economic advisor, Lael Brainard, said in December that the deal deserves “serious scrutiny” in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability.
The U.S. Steel sale to Nippon is expected to close in the second or third quarter of this year, but that could be delayed as the company needs approval by U.S. Steel’s shareholders, as well as regulatory approvals and regulatory review.
