Steelmaker Stelco, USW reach tentative agreement; vote scheduled Aug 19

Representative from United Steelworkers Local 8782 and Canadian steelmaker Stelco have reached a tentative labor agreement and are set to vote Aug. 19.

The representatives arrived at the tentative agreement following five months of negotiations, USW Local 8782 President Randy Graham said in an email seen by S&P Global Commodity insights Aug. 18.

Union members had previously rejected the company's offer July 28, following their contracts' expiration June 30.

Another vote on the proposed agreement will take place Aug. 19 following meetings Aug. 18. If an agreement is not met, an official strike date of Aug. 22 at 12:01 am has been set.

A representative from Stelco was not immediately available for comment.

Contract negotiations were similarly underway with Canadian steelmaker Algoma. As of Aug. 12, representatives from USW 2251 agreed to take Algoma's last offer to a vote by employees, according to a release by the company.

Previously, the USW had declined to take the company's contract offer to employees for a vote following their contracts' July 31 expiration.

Representatives from USW Local 2251 and Algoma were not immediately available for comments.