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U.S. Steel announced on Wednesday that an arbitration board has ruled in favor of Nippon Steel’s USD 14.9 billion buyout of the company. However, the United Steelworkers (USW) union has expressed its disagreement with the decision.
Image Source: The Japan Times
The arbitration board, which was jointly selected by U.S. Steel and the union to resolve disputes, determined that U.S. Steel had met all the requirements outlined in the successorship clause of its basic labor agreement with the USW.
The USW noted that the arbitrators accepted Nippon Steel’s assurance that it would honor the existing Basic Labor Agreement (BLA). Despite the ruling, the union maintained its opposition to the deal.
Image Source: Asahi.com
In a statement, Nippon Steel reiterated its commitment to maintaining a productive relationship with the union, emphasizing that its obligations would “go far beyond what is currently required in the existing BLA.”
The acquisition, signed last December, has faced political pushback. Both Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump have voiced support for keeping U.S. Steel under American ownership. Nippon Steel paid a significant premium for the buyout, banking on potential gains from U.S. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure spending bill.
Earlier this month, U.S. Steel warned that failure to complete the deal could jeopardize thousands of union jobs, potentially leading to the closure of steel mills and the relocation of its headquarters out of Pennsylvania, a key political battleground.
Nippon Steel aims to finalize the deal by the end of December, pending regulatory approvals. The company resubmitted an application to the U.S. national security panel, pushing the final decision on the politically sensitive merger until after the November 5 presidential election.
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