The United Steelworkers released a communiqué to its membership this morning.

And the news is still grim.

The text of today’s statement.

“With just a few days remaining before our contracts with ArcelorMittal expire, your Negotiating Committee continues to try to engage the company on all outstanding issues on a variety of levels.

“With major economic and non-economic items to address before our deadline, ArcelorMittal management shows no sense of urgency by postponing and canceling subcommittee meetings. The company is still challenging even relatively minor issues such as contract language about scheduling bereavement leave and justice and dignity.

In the meantime, we have presented the company with a series of proposals that address the issues we believe are consistent with our goals of respecting our past and securing our future.

“For generations, our union has fought to make our mills and communities places we can be proud to work and live. ArcelorMittal management—after months of hearing your strong and loud NO—still wants an agreement that would allow the company to turn our plants over to contractors and salaried ‘engineers.’

“Given management’s persistence in pursuit of a contract that reverses more than 70 years of progress for union members and their families, your continued attention, support, and solidarity are now more important than ever to our success as we enter this final week of bargaining.

“We still have a lot of ground to cover but we believe that as long as you continue to stand united, we can accomplish anything—including reaching a fair contract with this company—despite management’s ongoing attempts to undermine our past progress and the future of our standard of living and working conditions.”

Posted 8/27/2012