Common goals and a shared future
After a thorough negotiation period, U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers Union (USW) reached a tentative agreement on the renewal of their labor contract. This contract continues the great legacy of the steel industry in our area and demonstrates that a shared future can result from common goals between business and labor.
Our area has confronted many challenges in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, supply-chain disruptions and inflation have hampered economic expansion and job growth in both the domestic and international economies.
For individual workers, the cost of living has risen and although the Federal Reserve recently reported that inflation slowed in October, families will still be dealing with higher costs for some time. This agreement is welcome relief to a region that values union labor and appreciates corporate citizens like USW and U.S. Steel.
Under the new deal, U.S. Steel made a priority to offer its more than 2,700 local union workers the requisite salary and benefits they need to comfortably call Pittsburgh their home. From cash appreciation bonuses to inflation adjustment payments and uncapped profit-sharing, there is a lot to like about this deal.
USW workers will see a significant boost in their paychecks, including a five percent base pay increase each year, with more than 21% guaranteed base wage increases over the life of the four-year contract. This comes on the heels of U.S. Steel’s “Inflation Recognition Payments,” which provides quarterly payments if inflation hits certain markers. Employees have received, on average, more than $1,200 each in 2022 so far from this program.
Further, U.S. Steel continues investing in new facilities for its workforce. As part of the new agreement with USW, the company is committing $1 billion in further investments, bringing total facilities investments to $6.3 billion over nine years. Financial commitments such as these are needed in Pittsburgh, especially if we want to reverse our declining labor trends and retain workers and professionals in the area. While the negotiations may have taken some time, the commitment to reaching a mutually agreeable contract was evident from the start with both parties.
Over the past several years, southwestern Pennsylvania’s natural population decline – where deaths outnumber births — has been one of our leading causes of worker availability. Nearly every business leader has cited employee attraction and retention at or near the top of their list of challenges, but despite this, employment levels have essentially been flat since 2020.
To overcome this natural decline, we need to attract and retain more young families in the region. One of the requirements to meet this challenge is the availability of stable, family sustaining jobs to complement our low cost of living as well as our world class cultural and recreational assets. That is why this labor deal was so critical, providing our steel industry with stability and predictability in their efforts to continue driving job creation and investment in their regional facilities.
The agreement between U.S. Steel and the USW demonstrates that the Pittsburgh region can still create a future built on the foundations of our manufacturing heritage and the workers that built our nation. However, to continue to grow southwestern Pennsylvania, we need even more collaboration between business and labor, working together to stimulate growth and create the job opportunities necessary to attract young families seeking an opportunity to achieve the American dream.