A new contract deal between U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers Union won’t stop temporary layoffs at the Granite City facility. The mill is being idled by U.S. Steel.
A U.S. Steel spokesperson says Granite City workers are covered under the new contract deal.
But they are still facing layoffs because of the idling.
About a month ago, U.S. Steel officially announced that it was going to idle the Granite City facility.
When U.S. Steel made that announcement just before Thanksgiving, the company said the mill was being idled because of declining customer demand, fluctuating oil prices, depressed steel prices and unfairly traded imports.
We understand that potentially about 2,000 workers could start being laid off this coming Sunday. At this point it’s unclear how long the layoffs could last.
The local union president has said that the shutdown could last longer than the last time U.S. Steel idled the plant from November 2008 until June 2009.
U.S. Steel says the ratification process for the new contract is ongoing. The two sides had been in negotiations since June.
The contract had expired at the beginning of September but both sides agreed to continue operating under the old contract’s provisions.
Fox 2 News reached out to the local union president for comment but so far have not heard back.
Source: http://fox2now.com/