Steel Workers Demand Higher Pay Raises as Tariffs Lift Profits
11 Settembre 2018 - 02:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Bob Tita
Workers at two of the biggest U.S. steelmakers are demanding
higher compensation as tariffs on foreign metal push prices and
profits to their highest point in years.
Leaders for some 30,000 members of the United Steelworkers union
say United States Steel Corp. and ArcelorMittal SA aren't passing
those benefits to workers yet. The union is in a contract standoff
with both companies. Workers have authorized union leaders to call
a strike against U.S. Steel, and say they could do the same at
ArcelorMittal if an agreement isn't reached soon.
Contracts for both companies expired Sept. 1.
U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal account for 40% of the U.S.
production capacity for flat-rolled steel, the price of which is up
by more than 30% this year. The 25% tariff the Trump administration
enacted on steel imports earlier this year gave domestic steel
companies leverage to raise prices at a time when demand for steel
from manufacturers in a strong economy is up, too.
Steelworkers say they have yet to see the benefit from those
gains flow through to their paychecks.
"We feel we need some recognition and to share in the profits of
the company," said Michael Young, president of the union local for
U.S. Steel's Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind.
U.S. Steel has forecast a more-than-60% increase in adjusted
pretax income this year from 2017. ArcelorMittal, which has mills
throughout the world, doesn't issue a profit forecast for its U.S.
operations.
U.S. Steel said it doesn't anticipate a strike. "Talks are
ongoing, and we continue to work diligently to reach a mutually
agreeable conclusion, " the company said. ArcelorMittal declined to
comment on the strike threat.
Higher costs for wages and benefits could erode profit margins
at steelmakers that are only beginning to see stronger business
after many years struggling against cheap imports. Industry
analysts say U.S. Steel already has higher labor expenses and
older, more complicated production processes than competitors such
as Nucor Corp., where the workforce isn't unionized.
"U.S. Steel wants and needs more labor flexibility to deal with
the volatility in the industry," said Philip Gibbs, an analyst at
KeyBanc Capital Markets.
U.S. Steel workers agreed to forego raises for three years when
the recently expired contract was negotiated in 2015. The
Pittsburgh-based company had been losing money amid a slump in the
steel industry.
This year U.S. Steel has proposed a six-year contract with
annual raises of 4% in the first year and 3% in each of the next
two. Raises would drop to 1% annually in the last three years, with
the addition of new bonuses pegged to pretax profit. The lowest
annual base wage, excluding profit-sharing and other variable pay,
would rise to $71,726 in 2024 from $63,516 this year.
Union negotiators want U.S. Steel to provide bigger pay
increases or drop a demand that workers pay part of their
health-insurance premiums and higher copayments.
"They can use the windfalls of the tariffs and current industry
climate we helped to create to pay themselves even more and then
turn to us with dramatic cost shifting and wage packages that are
far below what we've earned and deserve," the union wrote last week
to its 16,000 members at U.S. Steel.
The union said ArcelorMittal's wage offer is also too low. The
Luxembourg-based company offered a three-year contract with pay
increases of 2% and 1.5% in the final two years. The union, which
represents 15,000 ArcelorMittal employees, said the company also is
seeking concessions on health insurance and other benefits that
would cost workers more than their pay raises would provide.
"ArcelorMittal clearly intends to test our solidarity," the
union said Friday in an online update on the negotiations.
Write to Bob Tita at robert.tita@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 11, 2018 08:41 ET (12:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Grafico Azioni ArcelorMittal (EU:MT)
Storico
Da Feb 2024 a Mar 2024
Grafico Azioni ArcelorMittal (EU:MT)
Storico
Da Mar 2023 a Mar 2024