AK Steel workers reject contract offer

AK Steel union workers voted on Monday to reject the company's most recent offer to end the seven-month lockout at the Middletown Works plant in Ohio. The company had stated that this latest proposed deal represented their final offer. Machinists union leader Brian Daley told the press that the contract had been rejected “substantially,” largely because it would have expanded AK's ability to outsource work, and also because it would have allowed the replacement workers to continue working. On September 22, AK Steel had presented the union with what they called their final contract offer, with a deadline of midnight Monday for a union response. The company now says that they will retract the offer, and that the lockout will continue until such time as agreement is reached.