As expected, United Steelworkers and U.S. Steel extended labor talks past the Sept. 1 contract expiration date, company officials confirmed during the Labor Day holiday weekend and again in a communication Monday.
ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel both have taconite facilities on Minnesota's Iron Range and both faced a Sept. 1 expiration date for their union-labor contracts.
But until Saturday evening, only Arcelor Mittal had publicly agreed to extend their contract. Now U.S. Steel will too.
In a statement Saturday night, U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox said, "U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers have agreed to an ongoing extension of the collective bargaining agreements that were scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 1, which we believe is in the best interest of our employees, customers, stockholders and other stakeholders. All U.S. Steel facilities continue to operate in a safe and orderly manner."
In an updated communication Monday, Cox added "We do not anticipate a strike."
During the weekend, union officials told members that the intend to begin scheduling strike-authorization votes sometime this week.
The labor negotiations at both U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal affect a combined 30,000 U.S. iron and steel workers, including more than 2,000 on Minnesota's Iron Range.
U.S. Steel owns Minntac in Mountain Iron, Minnesota and Keetac in Keewatin, Minnesota. ArcelorMittal owns the Minorca mine and plant in Virginia, Minnesota.
Negotiations for the new employment contracts have been taking place in Pittsburgh since early July.
