Algoma Steel outlines final offer in CBA negotiations with USW Local 2251

SAULT STE. MARIE — Algoma Steel Group Inc. announced on Jul. 29 that the Company has submitted its final Collective Bargaining Agreement offer to the Negotiating Committee of United Steelworkers Local Union 2251, the union representing Algoma’s hourly employees.

Algoma has also received notice that the 2251 Negotiating Committee has refused the offer and is not bringing the offer to employee members for a vote. Should the 2251 Negotiating Committee maintain this position and its members not vote on the offer, the Company will be required to begin idling operations on Sunday July 31, 2022 to preserve the integrity of its assets. If operations are idled, it will take at least 10 days to ramp-up the furnace and return to production.

Algoma’s offer contains improvements to the CBA including:

• Wage and cost of living increases totaling at least 12.6% over 3 years plus increased afternoon, night and Sunday shift premiums
• Increases to employee benefits that include:
  • Increase in the Company’s contributions to the Defined Contribution pension by a total of 45 cents per hour over 3 years
  • Increase in major medical benefits, including lifetime maximum and visit allotments
  • Increase in vision care
  • Increase in dental benefits, including improvements to lifetime maximum for orthodontics and crown coverage
  • Increase in short term and long term disability reduced earnings caps
• Increase in retiree health benefits, including increased lifetime maximum and more for hearing aids and eye glasses

“We have been working in good faith to come to an agreement that is highly equitable to the members of the 2251 local, provides assurances of no job redundancies related to the electric arc transition during the term of this CBA and supports our collective future under the electric arc transformation,” Algoma President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Garcia commented. “We must maintain a responsible balance that provides fair and equitable improvements to wages and benefits, in keeping with our competitors, while not overextending our cost structure which would put the business at risk, particularly during low points in the economic cycle. A work stoppage with a reduction in production, will have immediate adverse consequences for our company, customers, employees and the economic health of our community.”

The current agreement will expire as of 12:01 am, August 1, 2022.

Algoma Steel and United Steelworkers Local 2251 have agreed on a 15-day extension to their collective agreement.

“We are urging all of our members to report to work as scheduled as we have an extension to our Collective Agreement,” members of the USW Local 2251 negotiating committee said in a press release on Jul. 30.