US Steel and the United Steelworkers are trying to finish their first full contract since Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion takeover closed last year. The old contract expired Sept. 2, and both sides agreed to a 30-day extension to keep talking. In a text to members Sunday, the union's bargaining committee called the results so far "extremely disappointing" and said US Steel's posture ranges "from the substantial (attacking successorship language) to the petty (refusing to print contract books)." The deal covers more than 10,000 workers across plants in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, and Minnesota.

1. The Union's Bargaining Committee (USW Local Presidents; Roxanne Brown, USW International President)

The company is stalling on what matters and calling it cooperation.

The company won't move on the two things that actually protect workers. The union says US Steel hasn't budged on healthcare cost-shifting or on "successorship" language — the clause that forces any future buyer of a US Steel plant to keep the union contract in place. Without it, a future sale could wipe out the protections workers have now.

Healthcare costs have already jumped 43% since 2021. Members currently pay no monthly premium, and the union says US Steel's proposed "plan design changes" would change that. USW local presidents put it plainly in a joint statement: "With days to go before expiration, we're still very far apart."

The company went to the press before it went to the union. USW says US Steel shared proposal details with reporters before presenting the full offer to its own bargaining committee, calling that "very misleading" and not how negotiations normally work.

2. US Steel (CEO David Burritt; SVP Karl Kocsis)

This is a strong five-year offer built for long-term stability, not a giveback.

The company says its offer protects everything workers already have. US Steel's proposal is an 18.5% wage increase over five years plus a $4,000 ratification bonus, with no changes to pensions, profit sharing, holidays, or vacation eligibility.

The company says it built this deal to last. "Our goal is to build something that lasts. Long term certainty. Good paying jobs," Burritt said as talks opened this summer.

The company points to its broader investment commitments. US Steel and Nippon have pledged $11 billion in U.S. steelmaking investment by 2028, part of the national security agreement that cleared the original acquisition.

3. Labor-Law Scholars (Alvin Velazquez, Indiana University; Thomas Lenz, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo)

A sitting president holding veto power over plant closures changes who's really at the table.

The real decision-maker here may not be in the room. As part of the deal that let Nippon buy US Steel, President Trump got a "golden share" — veto power over relocating the company's headquarters, moving jobs overseas, or changing its name, plus the right to appoint one board member and reject the company's other two independent picks. Alvin Velazquez, a law professor at Indiana University and former SEIU counsel, asks the obvious question: "Who will the steelworkers ultimately be bargaining with? They could be symbolically bargaining with US Steel, but the real financial decision could be made in Japan."

Even management-side lawyers see a problem here. Thomas Lenz, an employment attorney who typically represents employers, warned: "I would be concerned that management may not be coming to the table with authority to reach a binding agreement because if the government can come along and veto it, those efforts at the bargaining table might be for naught."

That uncertainty follows every future election, not just this one. Velazquez argues the perpetual veto power "could subject US Steel's corporate strategy to the same policy oscillation that regulators suffer from between administrations" — meaning workers' job security could hinge as much on who's in the White House as on what's written in their contract.

Where This Lands

The union says US Steel is stalling on the protections that matter most while offering a wage number dressed up to look generous. US Steel says its five-year proposal is exactly the long-term stability workers asked for. Legal scholars say neither side may fully control the outcome, given the veto power sitting in Washington. The 30-day extension the two sides agreed to after Sept. 1 doesn't run forever, and the union has been working against a Sept. 25 target to get a deal done.

Sources