Nippon Steel's Mori meets with steelworkers in Pittsburgh next week

Joe Deaux
| Bloomberg

Nippon Steel Corp. Vice President Takahiro Mori is scheduled to visit the US, which will include a meeting next week with workers representing the three major local unions that control United States Steel’s iconic factories Corp. run in the Pittsburgh area.

The move signals the Japanese company’s efforts to convince rank-and-file union members that its $14.1 billion bid to acquire US Steel will be good for workers’ long-term prospects. During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump said he would block the deal, which is still under the attention of regulators.

United Steelworkers Local 2227 vice president Jason Zugai said in an interview that he received a personal email from Mori and agreed to sit down with the director next week at a time yet to be determined and will meet several Edgar union members take with you. Thomson Plant, Clairton Plant and Irvin Plant. Zugai said he hopes United Steelworkers International President David McCall, who has been steadfast in his opposition since the deal was announced in December, will also sit down with Mori and reconsider his position.

The news comes as both companies await a decision on the pending transaction from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS. Earlier this year, the security panel cleared Nippon Steel to resubmit its plans for the purchase. The potential takeover became an election flashpoint, especially in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where both US Steel and the USW are located. Investors, analysts and the broader industry are eagerly awaiting a decision now that the election is over.

Nippon Steel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. US Steel declined to comment.

In a statement, McCall said he was not aware of any meetings of local union members with Mori. He reiterated the position that the national union is seeking a written contract from Nippon Steel that guarantees capital investments. He said the current terms of the deal would “come at the expense of national defense” and crucial supply chains.

In the interview, Zugai said he expects to tell Mori that he and his fellow steelworkers want their labor contracts extended: “Extend it for another four years, keep the same wage increases. That would go a long way to closing this deal.”

“I’m doing what I have to do to get this deal done,” Zugai said.

Visit stops

Zugai also said Mori will attend the Pittsburgh Steelers’ football game against the Baltimore Ravens this weekend.

Mori is also likely to make stops in New York and Washington during his visit, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be named because the information is private. The trip has been in the works for several weeks, but the company was waiting for the Nov. 5 U.S. election to pass, the person said.

McCall, the union head, said in an interview last month that he was taking a final step ahead of the election to emphasize to his members why the union leadership opposes the Japanese takeover, a move that came as rank-and-file members openly challenged his position. position. A group of union members spoke on a Fox News morning show in October to publicly say they supported Nippon Steel’s takeover of the storied American company.

A day before the election, Zugai said he and many other steelworkers stood with Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania to show their support for the candidate. Zugai said he then spoke with Trump about the deal for about three minutes and told him that many of the steelworkers supported it.

It is unclear whether a decision to approve or terminate the deal will ever reach Trump’s desk, as the timeline for the CFIUS decision has been pushed back to December while the Biden administration is still in office.