Labor negotiations will resume in early October for workers at Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite and other facilities owned by Cliffs Natural Resources, company and union officials confirmed Thursday.
The contract between United Steelworkers and Cliffs expired Sept. 1, but the two sides agreed to extend the contract in 48-hour increments.
But talks broke off a week ago in Pittsburgh, and will resume Oct. 8 in Duluth, said United Steelworkers spokesman Wayne Ranick. Health-care costs are a key sticking point keeping the two sides apart. Ranick would not disclose the other issues preventing an agreement.
Cliffs has 1,090 union workers in Minnesota and another 1,330 in Michigan affected by the negotiations, said Cliffs spokeswoman Sandy Karnowski.
Before the agreement to temporarily extend the contract, both management and steelworkers had been preparing for a strike.
Cliffs had hired temporary workers while union employees had been meeting and preparing to rally. But the cooling-off period appears to have temporarily eased tensions.
Meanwhile, labor talks continue at ArcelorMittal, which owns the 330-worker Minorca Mine outside Virginia, Minn. Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal is the largest taconite and steel producer in the United States. Labor contracts expired Sept. 1 but workers agreed to continue working in the hopes of working out disagreements about pensions and health-care costs.
At U.S. Steel, labor talks earlier this week resulted in a temporary 3-year contract. The agreement, which still must be voted on by union members, covers 15,000 nationwide including about 1,350 workers at USS Keetac in Keewatin, Minn., and USS Minntac in Mountain Iron, Minn.
Dee DePass 612-673-7725
