The Cleveland-based company that owns and operates a Middletown steel facility has agreed to assume, upon closing of a transaction, all of the agreements between U.S. Steel and the USW that are applicable to the U.S. Steel employees.
Under the terms of the USW’s collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, a potential sale of the whole company or USW-represented assets could not be consummated without the support of the USW, according to Cliffs.
The assignment transfers to Cliffs the USW’s right to bid on such potential transactions. The USW’s transfer and assignment only applies to Cliffs.
Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ chairman, president and CEO, thanked Thomas Conway, the union’s international president, for working “as a true partner.”
He told employees U.S. Steel: “I have your back.”
Earlier this week, U.S. Steel announced it had rejected an unsolicited $7.3 billion buyout offer from Cleveland-Cliffs that would have significantly changed the shape of the steel industry, according to the two companies.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said it rejected the buyout proposal and was reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers.
Cleveland-Cliffs publicly announced Sunday night a previously private offer that it had presented to the board of the U.S. Steel Corp. on July 28.
That offer, which was reiterated in writing to the U.S. Steel Board on Aug. 11, proposed acquiring 100% of the outstanding stock of U.S. Steel for a per share value of $17.50 in cash and 1.023 shares of Cliffs stock.
Shawn Coffey, union president of AEIF IAM Local 1943 at Middletown Works, told the Journal-News that he didn’t have “enough details” to comment on the proposal.
On Thursday, Middletown native Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) sent a letter to U.S. Steel urging the company to reject any acquisition bid from a foreign entity, citing the vital role the domestic steel industry serves in defending the “security and prosperity” of the U.S.
In part, the letter read: “As the second largest integrated steelmaker in the country and a giant of American industry, the future of U.S. Steel will be consequential for the future of the U.S. steel industry. I fear that the strategic review could undermine our national security if mismanaged. In particular, I worry about the implications of an acquisition by a foreign entity that may not share your business’s storied connection to the United States.”
Cleveland-Cliffs purchased AK Steel in Middletown for $1.1 billion in 2020. After that the Cleveland-based company bought the U.S. assets of ArcelorMittal for $1.4 billion, making it the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, officials said.
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