Standard Steel and United Steelworkers resume contract negotiations

Standard Steel and United Steelworkers (USW) representatives are scheduled to resume contract negotiations on Tuesday in Burnham. Approximately 450 to 460 employees are currently working under expired agreements that officially ended on September 21.

The primary unresolved issues in the negotiations are wages and health care. Standard Steel has proposed hourly wage increases of 50 cents in the first year, 50 cents in the second year, and 60 cents in the third year. Jeff Wray, president of USW Local 1940, noted that with the current middle wage scale at approximately $27 an hour, the first proposed increase represents about a 1.9% raise.

While the union expressed a desire to reach an agreement without work stoppages, members have been pressing leadership to hold a strike vote. The outcome of Tuesday's bargaining session may determine if the union moves forward with authorizing a strike.