Steelworkers to rally in Coatesville and across nation

COATESVILLE » Thousands of members of the United Steelworkers union, along with labor and communities allies in Coatesville are planning a nationwide day of action Thursday, Aug. 30, with marches and rallies calling for fair treatment as their collective bargaining agreements with ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel are set to expire on Sept. 1.

Locally, the rally will be in Coatesville along Business Route 30 adjacent to the ArcelorMittal plate mill at 2 p.m.

The union’s negotiations with ArcelorMittal cover about 15,000 members of 13 local unions, while the USW’s master agreement with U.S. Steel covers more than 16,000 workers at 24 local unions, including Coatesville.

“Steelworkers have made sacrifices over the past several years that have allowed both companies to be very profitable,” said Leo W. Gerard, USW International president. “All we are asking for are fair contracts that recognize those sacrifices and allow workers to have a share of that success.”

Gerard said that for the last six weeks, union members have been working to engage ArcelorMittal management in good faith negotiations.

Core issues for steelworkers are the need for wage and pension improvements. Also unresolved are health care concessions from active members and retirees.

Gerard said that due to market conditions in 2015, ArcelorMittal was not generating cash, and as a result, union members showed flexibility in bargaining an agreement that did not include wage increases but protected the security of jobs, earnings and retirements.

In a statement to its members, USW leadership said: “As the company continues to thrive, we should not need to remind management that none of the facilities currently owned by ArcelorMittal would be operating if it wasn’t for our hard work and the USW’s leadership in the decadeslong struggle for fair trade – yet that is precisely what we must do. Now more than ever, we must stand together to fight for the fair contract that we have earned and deserve. We are planning to hold gate rallies on Thursday, Aug. 30th at all of the plants to show management that we are united.”

The locations included in the two companies’ collective bargaining agreements are:

ArcelorMittal: Coatesville, Cleveland, Burns Harbor, Conshocken, Indiana Harbor East, Indiana Harbor West, Minorca Mine, Riverdale, Steelton, Warren Coke, Weirton, IN Tek, IN Kote, Columbus Coatings and Columbus Processing.

U.S. Steel: Clairton Works, East Chicago Tin, Fairfield, Fairfield Southern, Fairless Hills, Gary Works, Granite City Works, Great

Gary Works, Granite City Works, Great Lakes Works, Keetac, Lone Star Tubular, Lorain Tubular, Midwest Plant, Minntac, and Mon Valley Works.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors.