AK Steel and USW reach tentative agreement

AK Steel and the United Steelworkers (USW) announced this week that the company and its Mansfield, Ohio workers, represented by the USW Local 169, have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year labor contract. The specific terms of the tentative agreement have not been disclosed, but the union has informed the press that it has achieved improvements to wages, pensions, and health insurance for employees and retirees. The USW Local 169 will hold a ratification vote on November 20. If successful, the contract would go into effect on January 1, 2007, and expire on March 31, 2011.