AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) has announced that the members of the United Auto Workers have agreed to a two and a half year labor contract.
The company revealed that the UAW officials gave it a notice that the employees from Butler Works agreed to ratify the contract through a voting exercise that took place on August 8 and 9 this month. AK Steel also stated that the labor agreement caters to 1,200 employees who deal with production and maintenance at Butler Works. The new contract is expected to expire on April 1 in 2019.
AK Steel’s Chief Executive Officer Roger K. Newport stated that his firm was excited about finding common ground through the labor agreement before the expiry of the company’s previous contract with Butler Works. Newport further pointed out that the new deal will give AK Steel a better position to satisfy the needs of its customers in the future. The firm also expects to continue to pushing sales for innovative products with more value. Butler Works has a wide range of steel products such as electrical steels that are believed to be some of the most energy efficient on a global scale.
AK Steel is particularly pleased with the speedy manner in which the negotiations took place. A delay until the expiry of the earlier contract would have led to a lot of tension for the firm and perhaps even disrupted the operations. The firm also takes pride in the fact that employees at Butler Works have not presented a challenge to the process and negotiations have been relatively smooth.
The company expects to maintain its position as the top producer of flat-rolled carbon, electrical steel, and stainless steel products. The firm sells its products in the major industries including electrical power generation, construction, manufacturing, infrastructure and the automotive industry. AK Steel has roughly 8,500 employees in its plants which are located in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana.
