US Steel Strike Threat Grows as Union Talks Enter Third Month

(Bloomberg) -- The United Steelworkers says it's running out of patience with US Steel as negotiations over a new labor agreement stretch into a third month, raising the prospect of a strike at one of America's largest steelmakers. Most Read from Bloomberg Nvidia Probe Into CEO Affair Raises Thorny Questions for AI Georgia State Race Reversed After Votes Surface on Memory Card Several Senate Republicans Call for Delaying Leadership Election Alice Huang, Suspected China Spy, Spent Years in Nvidia's Orbit CoreWeave Asks Texas Governor-Elect for Data Center Cooperation Bernie Hall, a steelworker leading negotiations with US Steel, said it's "highly unlikely" the union will continue negotiations into 2027, putting a rough deadline on talks that have dragged well beyond the expiration of the previous labor agreement in September. "We're in the fourth quarter," said Hall, a union leader representing the more than 10,000 workers at US Steel facilities, including operations in Pennsylvania and Indiana. "We've been here for months and we're not going to be here for months longer." The prolonged negotiations represent one of the first major tests of labor relations since Nippon Steel Corp. completed its roughly $14.9 billion politically contentious takeover of US Steel last year. The Japanese steelmaker overcame fierce opposition from the USW to buy the American company after agreeing to an unusual national-security arrangement with the Trump administration that places restrictions on plant closures, job transfers and reductions in promised capital spending. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. US Steel and the union have been continually renewing the contract on a rolling, 48-hour basis to allow for bargaining to continue. Either party can move to terminate the contract with 48 hours' notice. At the center of the contract dispute is so-called successorship language, which protects union contracts if US Steel facilities are sold. Such language would require a buyer of US Steel plants to honor existing union contracts and their protections for wages, benefits and pensions. Without those protections, the union says US Steel would leave workers more exposed if individual plants are sold. "There are a few very unreasonable things that they're asking of us that we could never do and that we would never accept," said Hall in an interview. US Steel, meanwhile, says its latest proposal provides long-term job stability and includes what it calls an "unprecedented" capital commitment to its facilities. The two sides have continued bargaining while workers remain on the job under the terms of the previous agreement. Story Continues Nippon Steel is expecting a windfall from its American unit as metal prices surpass four-year highs on robust consumer demand and a dearth of foreign imports due to President Donald Trump's tariffs. The company said last week it now anticipates $1.5 billion in profit this year, up from previous expectations of $1.1 billion. Nippon Steel has pledged roughly $11 billion of investment in US Steel through 2028 as part of the agreement with the Trump administration. Certain decisions to reduce those investments, move jobs outside the US or close or idle existing plants require government approval under the agreement. The union has said the investment commitments presented at the bargaining table covered only a limited number of facilities and fell short of the broad assurances made by US Steel and Nippon. Last week, the union agreed to a deal with US steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a competitor of US Steel, to renew its contracts with the Ohio-based company. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek China's Bad-Debt Collectors Chase After 100 Million Defaulters Hyatt Is the All-Inclusive Resort King, If That's Your Thing China's Extraordinary Path to Power The Crypto Mogul Behind Trading Powerhouse Hyperliquid ©2026 Bloomberg L.P. View Comments