Before their contract expired overnight, United Steel workers gathered Wednesday in Granite City. There are already jitters among workers about a possible buyout and layoffs.
12,000 U.S. Steel workers around the country are affected by the ongoing talks, including 1,300 in Granite City. At a rally, KMOX heard from workers about what they wanted from the deal.
"We worked the whole pandemic. Corporate was sitting at home, we were here working the whole time," one worker said.
Others said they wanted better pay and to keep their benefits, or see the company be less greedy.
"They've had record profits for the last year and a half consecutively," another worker said.
The union says it plans to keep working on 48-hour extensions of the old contract until there's a new contract or a strike. The contract does not deal with the proposed buyout of the U.S. Steel plant in Granite by Suncoke, which could lead to 900 layoffs here, something the union is trying to stop separately.
Copyright 2022 KMOX (Audacy). All Rights Reserved.
Follow KMOX | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Listen on the free Audacy app.
Ask your smart speaker to play K M O X.
