Steelworkers union blasts proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel
The United Steelworkers union president Monday heavily criticized the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion and raised questions about the implications of “national security interests” of a foreign company buying an American steel company.
U.S Steel is the parent company of the Granite City steel mill that has been a mainstay of the local economy for decades.
David McCall, international president of the United Steelworkers union, said in a news release headlined “USW slams Nippon plan to acquire USS,” the planned sale shows the “greedy, shortsighted attitude that has guided U.S. Steel for far too long.”
“We remained open throughout this process to working with U.S. Steel to keep this iconic American company domestically owned and operated, but instead it chose to push aside the concerns of its dedicated workforce and sell to a foreign-owned company,” McCall said.
Leaders of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel praised the deal.
Nippon Steel Corp. President Eiji Hashimoto said in a news release that Nippon is “committed to honoring all of U.S. Steel’s existing union contracts.”
David B. Burritt, president and chief executive officer of U. S. Steel, said in a statement: “NSC has a proven track record of acquiring, operating, and investing in steel mill facilities globally – and we are confident that, like our strategy, this combination is truly Best for All.”
McCall said neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon contacted the union.
He said this is “in itself a violation of our partnership agreement that requires U.S. Steel to notify us of a change in control or business conditions.
“Based on this alone, the USW does not believe that Nippon understands the full breadth of the obligations of all our agreements and we do not know whether it has the capacity to live up to our existing contract. This includes not just the day-to-day commitments of our labor agreement but also significant obligations to fund pension and retiree insurance benefits that are the most extensive in the domestic steel industry.”
McCall urged “government regulators to carefully scrutinize this acquisition and determine if the proposed transaction serves the national security interests of the United States and benefits workers.”
U.S. Steel said in a statement it expects the sale to be closed in the second or third quarter of 2024 and “there will be no changes to our business or operating structure as a result of today’s announcement.”
The president of the union that represents workers in Granite City was expected to comment on the sale later Monday.
In November, U.S. Steel said up to 600 workers face layoffs as the company has “indefinitely” idled the Granite City mill’s primary operations. The mill is known as the Granite City Works.
