United Steelworkers union presents U.S. Steel with healthcare proposal

Steel News  |  2026-09-24 00:06:17   |   By

The USW says U.S. Steel's proposal would shift significant costs onto workers as it looks to hold onto existing benefits it secured during past rounds of negotiations.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The United Steelworkers union has presented U.S. Steel with a counterproposal for healthcare, a main sticking point in negotiations.

The union is concerned about company proposals that would require steelworkers to pay more out of pocket for healthcare. U.S. Steel said it is looking to manage rising healthcare costs and would work with the union in order to keep healthcare increases down.

The USW says U.S. Steel's proposal would shift significant costs onto workers as it looks to hold onto existing benefits it secured during past rounds of negotiations.

'We met with the company Monday and made it clear their healthcare scheme is a non-starter,' USW said in an update to members. 'Based on that, we had further discussions with the company. We still have a lot of work to do.'

The union has been bargaining for months with the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker over pay, benefits and working conditions at U.S. Steel mills across the nation, including the flagship Gary Works and the Midwest Plant in Portage. The contract covering thousands of Northwest Indiana steelworkers expired on Sept. 1, but the two sides have remained at the bargaining table under an extension.

U.S. Steel proposed a five-year agreement with an 18.2% cumulative wage increase and raises every year, as well as a $4,000 signing bonus. U.S. Steel's proposal includes no changes to the holiday schedule and no changes to vacation eligibility.

The steelmaker says its new healthcare proposals would encourage high-value care and facilitate informed healthcare decisions while managing rising healthcare costs, including when addressing rising prescription costs by evaluating specialty drug spending. U.S. Steel proposed establishing a joint benefits committee with the union that would work together to manage costs.

Courtesy: www.nwitimes.com