Union Says Wheeling to Open Books

The United Steelworkers said Tuesday that Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel’s new management team has agreed to open its books to the union and resume formal contract bargaining Monday in a bid to avoid liquidation in bankruptcy court.

The announcement followed a meeting in Pittsburgh between George A. Ferris, the retired Ford Motor executive who took over Friday as chief executive, and Paul D. Rusen, the union negotiator who successfully lobbied for the ouster of former Chairman Dennis J. Carney.

The company is undergoing reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code because of bad loans totaling about $530 million.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh was ranked as the seventh-largest U.S. steel producer before a union walkout idled nine plants July 21 in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

First Major Walkout

The walkout by 8,200 union members could lead to Chapter 7 liquidation if the dispute is prolonged, company officials have said. The shutdown, 66 days old Tuesday, was triggered by Carney’s decision to dissolve the union’s contract and cut wages and fringe benefits. It is the first major steel walkout since a nationwide strike in 1959.

“We’re in a hurry. We have to move as rapidly as possible,” Ferris told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday.

Rusen had argued that no settlement could be reached while Carney was in charge of Wheeling-Pittsburgh. He entered Tuesday’s meeting expecting quick progress with Ferris.

With bankruptcy court approval, Carney lowered the average labor cost, the total of wages, fringe benefits, payroll taxes and other charges from $21.40 per hour to $17.50, an 18.2% reduction that Rusen said was unnecessary to revive the company.

Ferris granted the union’s longstanding request to have its financial consultants study the company’s books in assessing Wheeling-Pittsburgh’s demands for the pay cuts. Union members had already granted $100 million in concessions during the past several years.