Algoma Reaches Tentative Labor Deal With One of Two USW Locals

The union said in an update to members that the votes would be held after details of the agreement were presented to members on Thursday, July 21.

The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker confirmed those dates in a press release on Wednesday, July 20.

The current labor agreements between Algoma and its two local USW chapters expires on July 31.

Algoma, a Canadian sheet and plate mill, is represented by two unions: Local 2724, which represents salaried workers, and Local 2251, which represents hourly workers.

Talks are still ongoing between Algoma and Local 2251, the company said.

“We are pleased that we have reached a tentative agreement with our salaried union,” Algoma president and CEO Michael Garcia said in a statement. The development “sets out the process to transition the workforce to electric arc steelmaking.”

Local 2251 plans to hold a special membership meeting on July 27 to vote on a tentative agreement if one has been reached by then. If one has not been reached, Local 2251 will then advise its members on what steps to take next. If a strike vote were to be recommended, that vote would take place on July 30 – the day before the current contract expires, according to an update to union members.

Algoma’s transition to EAF steelmaking – necessary to achieve decarbonization goals – has been contentious among Local 2251 because it would obsolete the need for the coke batteries, and associated jobs, used to make steel via the integrated route.

“Theoretically, if they go 100% EAF, you have no more coke ovens and no more iron making. And all the service groups – maintenance, transportation, etc. – that we use to process that,” Local 2251 president Mike DaPrat said in an interview with SMU last summer. He estimated that potential job losses from switching to EAF steelmaking “would probably be in the hundreds.”

Algoma is an important supplier of sheet and plate not only to Canada but also to the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the US.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com