SHELBY — About 450 ArcelorMittal employees in Shelby will be on strike before the clock hits midnight.
Steve Ackerman, a USW International representative, told Richland Source on Tuesday evening that United Steelworkers Local 3057 will officially begin the strike at 11:59 p.m. as no agreement has been reached between ArcelorMittal and the union.
“It is very unfortunate to me,” he said Tuesday.
Ackerman and ArcelorMittal officials met as recently as Monday morning, but were unable to reach an agreement. Ackerman said there was no meeting between the union and company on Tuesday.
“I am hopeful to get back to the table and work this out as soon as possible,” he said.
ArcelorMittal officials did not return calls to Richland Source seeking comment on Monday afternoon. Additionally, no calls from the company were received Tuesday.
Past labor dispute as recent as 2021
The looming strike is not the first time ArcelorMittal and USW Local 3057 have not seen eye-to-eye as far as contract negotiations.
As recently as 2021, a labor dispute between the two sides lasted 11 days after USW Local 3057 began a strike at midnight on Nov. 1, 2021. The dispute concluded on Nov. 11, 2021 when an agreement was reached on a four-year contract.
COVERAGE FROM USW LOCAL 3057 STRIKE IN 2021
Ackerman said Monday that negotiations between the union and ArcelorMittal began Sept. 2 and employees have been working under an extension of their previous contract since Oct. 31.
“The biggest reason for us is our labor. If the company and the union can’t come to terms, then the union is basically forced to withhold their labor,” he said previously.
According to the company’s website, ArcelorMittal’s Shelby plant is its largest facility in Ohio. The steel and mining company services markets around the world from 24 different operating locations in 13 different countries.