Gerdau Ameristeel and USW reach labor agreements

Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation announced on Thursday that it has reached agreements with the United Steelworkers Union (USW) at the company's steel mills in Beaumont, Texas, St. Paul, Minnesota and Wilton, Iowa. The new contracts, ratified by the USW March 8, are effective immediately and expire in March 2010, July 2010 and September 2010 respectively. Gerdau Ameristeel's steel mills in Calvert City Kentucky; Joliet, Illinois; Sand Springs, Oklahoma; and Whitby, Canada are still in negotiations with the company. Jim Rogers, Gerdau Ameristeel's Vice President of Human Resources, said, "Our goal throughout all the negotiations has always been to work with the union to reach fair labor agreements that will help to position the company to deal with the cyclical nature of the steel industry and provide our employees with competitive compensation and benefits." USW chief negotiator Jim Stewart told press, “Negotiations with Gerdau Ameristeel have been drawn out and contentious. But the company made significant movement on important issues during the past few weeks allowing us to achieve agreements that were approved by our members at all three locations.” Gerdau Ameristeel is North America's second largest minimill steel producer. The Company's products are generally sold to steel service centers, steel fabricators, or original equipment manufacturers.