Members of the United Steelworkers Union 7898 Thursday announced their approval of contract concessions regarding the presently-idled ArcelorMittal mill in Georgetown, South Carolina. The concession package includes a $3.65 per hour wage cut, but guarantees that workers will get 40 hours a week unless another economic downturn forces a reduction to 32 hours. Additionally, the contract guarantees that the mill will not shut down again until the contract expires in 2012. Speaking to a local newspaper, union President James Sanderson stated that he informed ArcelorMittal of the results and he expects the company will announce the mill's reopening within a month.
However, industry sources report that the proposal in question is one that was voted down by the union last August, and union members have taken it upon themselves to vote on it again. ArcelorMittal management has apparently not asked them to do so, and the company is under no obligation to abide by the vote. Accordingly, spokeswoman Katie Patterson recently stated, "Our Georgetown facility will remain idled unless market conditions appreciably improve or the plant is put on a more competitive footing," echoing the same statements the company released over a month ago, when union officials first began reporting the potential reopening of the mill.
The Georgetown wire rod mill was shut down in July 2009, putting 297 employees out of work indefinitely. At the time, ArcelorMittal had reported a first quarter loss of $1.06 billion, following the company's first-ever net loss in the third quarter of 2008.