More charges have been filed in the aftermath of the failure of a deal between U.S. Steel and a Japanese company.
The United Steelworkers union announced in a letter Tuesday that they filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board protesting U.S. Steel. USW President David McCall and Mike Milsap, District 7 director and chairman of the negotiating committee, signed the letter.
The National Labor Relations Board works to safeguard employees’ rights to organize, and prevent and remedy unfair labor practices, according to the agency’s website.
The union has repeatedly expressed concerns with a deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel.
“Since the proposed transaction was first announced in December 2023, our union has flagged deep-seated concerns regarding Nippon’s trade and labor practices, the impact of a transaction on workers, and the enforcement of successorship language in our (collective bargaining agreement),” the letter said. “In response, USS initiated a coordinated attack, attempting to silence these viewpoints and undercut our collective power by turning us against each other.”
In a Wednesday statement, a U.S. Steel representative said the company has prioritized keeping employees informed about the transaction. The letter shows that USW leadership will continue to thwart the transaction, regardless of employees’ opinions.
“We engage employees in all business matters, making sure their questions are answered and that they have access to information,” U.S. Steel’s statement said. “We have conducted ourselves with integrity and remain confident that the transaction is the best path forward to secure the future of U.S. Steel.”
President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that Nippon Steel was dropping its more than $14 billion acquisition of the American company and would instead be making an “investment, rather than a purchase,” according to the Associated Press. But Nippon Steel has not dropped its acquisition offer and plans to use it as a starting point for talks with the U.S. government to revive the bid, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Biden blocked the deal in January, citing national security concerns.
Three days after, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel filed multiple lawsuits. The first — in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — alleged the blocking violated due process and statutory procedural requirements and unlawful evidence, and asked the court to set aside the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ review process and Biden’s blocking order.
The second was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Cleveland-Cliffs, its CEO Lourenco Goncalves and McCall for “illegal and coordinated actions” to prevent the deal. The steel companies allege McCall and the union violated federal anti-trust laws and Pennsylvania state tort laws for interference with contract.
The USW filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it’s against First Amendment rights. The lawsuit will be heard by the court on March 12.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has been supportive of a deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, he has repeatedly said since August. Melton has been critical of USW leadership’s position on the matter.
Following Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Melton said he was pleased to learn they talked about the deal. He thanked U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, for advocating for Gary and communicating with Trump.
“I’m optimistic that with fresh leadership from the Trump administration there is potential for an excellent deal that benefits American steel making communities like Gary for years to come,” Melton said in a statement.
Nippon Steel announced last August that it would invest $300 million into the Gary Works facility. A company executive later said that Nippon would invest $1 billion into the facility.
U.S. Steel employs about 4,500 employees at Gary Works and its Midwest Plant in Portage.
It’s unclear when Nippon’s investment will be official and what the details would be. As of Wednesday afternoon, USW’s filed charges were not yet listed on the National Labor Relations Board’s website.
