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The United Steelworkers union and Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NISTF) are staking out bargaining positions for a potential deal that could help guide the purchase of US Steel (NYSE:X), and Bloomberg reported Wednesday that USW leader David McCall is now explicitly outlining what the union wants: An in-writing, legal agreement that Nippon will honor all its labor contracts.
While Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NISTF) has said it intends to uphold the agreements and has offered at least $1.4B in new capital spending, it has not yet modified its public plan of merger with the assumption of the labor contracts, a key step the union is seeking, according to the report.
Nippon Steel (NISFTF) reiterated Wednesday its commitment to assume all existing USW agreements, including the basic labor agreement, pension, health and welfare plans, which a spokesperson said would be “memorialized in legally binding documents once an agreement with the USW is reached.”
McCall apparently is unconvinced, telling Bloomberg “they say stuff in the press about how they’re assuming the labor agreements – but they aren’t.”
The Biden administration has regularly sent warnings about the deal and has steadfastly sided with the USW over the sale; US Steel (X) closed -12.7% Wednesday after reports that Biden likely will release a statement of concern about the deal, although he is not expected to say the transaction should be blocked.
