The United Steelworkers (USW) union has rejected a letter from Nippon Steel Corp, which described a commitment to invest and protect jobs as part of its $14.1 billion acquisition of United States Steel Corp. (NYSE:X).
The union called the letter, dated March 27 “a meaningless piece of paper.”
This response comes amid discussions over the proposed deal, highlighting the union's concerns over the assurances provided by the Japanese steelmaker.
“It is instead nothing more than another collection of empty promises and open-ended language that would enable it to skirt obligations to workers and retirees,” USW President David McCall and USW Negotiating Committee Chairman Mike Millsap said in a statement to members.
“In the response that we sent today, we were firm and clear: our union sees through Nippon’s proposal and will not support the transaction in exchange for a pack of empty promises. Nor will we be deceived by so-called commitments that have baked into them ways to release Nippon from following through.”
On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that Nippon Steel presented the USW with a document last week, which it termed a “bilateral agreement.”
This document formalizes promises made during a prior meeting between Nippon Steel's leadership and the union.
Despite facing opposition, including from President Joe Biden—who has expressed that US Steel should remain American-owned—Nippon Steel's new president has committed to proceeding with the company's acquisition of United States Steel Corp.
Shares of US Steel fell over 1% Tuesday.