August 17, 2007 — Republic Engineered Products Inc. and the United Steelworkers union have arrived at a tentative, five-year labor agreement for workers at Republics plants in Canton, Lorain, and Massillon, OH, and Lackawanna, NY. The negotiations have been underway for several months, according to the union, and the previous agreement expired at midnight, August 15.
Details of the tentative agreement have not been disclosed.
About 2,000 hourly production, maintenance, office, and technical employees are affected. They will review and vote on the contract proposal in the coming days.
Republic is the largest producer of special bar quality (SBQ) steel in North America. (SBQ is a designation for various higher-quality carbon and alloy bars used in forging, machining, and cold drawing, and is essential for certain automotive parts, hand tools, electric-motor shafts, and valves.)
"We feel this tentative agreement truly serves the best interests of everyone involved," stated Republic president and CEO Jaime Vigil. "Since negotiations began in the spring, our goal has been to come to an agreement that is fair to both sides. This agreement will help provide Republic Engineered Products with an excellent opportunity to remain a leader in the increasingly competitive SBQ marketplace."