U.S. Steel Corp.'s 16,000 union workers each are receiving $4,464 in profit sharing for the second quarter while ArcelorMittal's 14,000 union-backed employees are getting a maximum of $695 in profit sharing for the period.
U.S. Steel's quarterly profit sharing -- the highest the company has seen in years -- comes on the heels of $6,000 individual signing bonuses heading to every union worker in the company if a pending contract is ratified. The company declined to comment on the issue.
The U.S. Steel profit sharing announcement on the United Steelworkers Local 1066 Web site states, "Congratulations to all our deserving members, for their hard work and dedication." The local represents production and maintenance workers at Gary Works west side.
USW Local 1066 President Anthony Galoozis Jr. said he and his members are "very happy" with the amount.
"Hopefully our company continues to be profitable," he said Monday.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel had $668 million in profits for the quarter. Its profit sharing payments are based on 480 hours worked at $9.30 per hour for each employee who qualifies for the full amount.
Workers at ArcelorMittal's domestic plants received no profit sharing payments for the first quarter, but the company made a $2.37 billion profit for the period. Profit sharing for the Luxemburg-based company's USW workers is based only on the revenue from its domestic operations.
ArcelorMittal officials couldn't be reached for comment Monday. The presidents of its USW locals returned to Pittsburgh on Sunday for union/company negotiations on a labor agreement to replace the one expiring Sept. 1. The union representatives couldn't be reached for comment.
In a message about profit sharing to his employees, Mike Rippey, president and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal USA, said "results in each of our performance measures are beginning to show meaningful improvement relative to the first quarter."
ArcelorMittal USA employs about 3,000 USW members at its Burns Harbor plant and almost 5,000 at its two Indiana Harbor plants.
"Improved reliability in our operations during the second quarter resulted in the production and on-time delivery of more prime tons, with a corresponding increase in market share," Rippey said.
