United Steelworkers members at Sheffield Steel's three locations have all agreed to continue working under the terms of their expired contracts.
However, this does not mean that the union is happy with their current situation. In a news release issued by the Union Wednesday, USW Local 2741 president at Sheffield's Sand Springs, OK location, Kenny Parrick, stated, "The members of Local 2741 agreed to open their contract in 2002 and grant the company concessionary relief while the company was in bankruptcy. Now, four years later, the company is posting record profits and refuses to recognize our most basic needs."
The union's official stance is that they are still willing to negotiate, but are willing to strike if necessary.
Sheffield Steel is a minimill producer of SBQ and MBQ hot rolled bar products, concrete reinforcing bar, and fabricated products, including fabricated
rebar, steel fence posts and railroad track spikes. The company is headquartered at its largest
manufacturing facility in Sand Springs, Oklahoma and has a rolling mill in Joliet, Illinois, two
fabrication shops in the Kansas City Area, and a railroad spike producer in Sand Springs.