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U.S. Steel & United Steelworkers Reach Tentative Deal

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) - A tentative agreement has been reached between U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers.

According to officials, the three-year deal is subject to ratification.

Neither side released details about the pact pending ratification by members of more than two dozen locals unions at the facilities.

The contract covers thousands of workers at the company's domestic flat-rolled and iron ore mining facilities as well as workers at tubular operations in Fairfield, Alabama; Lorain, Ohio; and Lone Star, Texas.

"We are pleased that we have reached a tentative agreement in the best interest of our company, our stakeholders and our employees," President and Chief Executive Officer Mario Longhi said in a statement.

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The contract covers about 18,000 workers at a number of facilities across the country.

Union president Leo Gerard said in a statement that it had been "a difficult year and a difficult round of bargaining." He said, however, that he was "proud of the way the brothers and sisters of the USW stood up and demanded fair treatment."

Negotiations began in June with both sides decrying low-priced imports from China and elsewhere and amid price declines and slowing demand for steel because of a decline in oil and gas drilling. The company's cost-cutting measures included closing and idling mills across the country and laying off thousands of workers.

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Last fall, union officials said the company was seeking more money from members for health care and concessions on overtime, contracting out work to nonunion workers and other issues.

The old contract expired at the beginning of September, but the two sides agreed to continue operating under its provisions.

The tentative agreement, announced late Saturday, doesn't cover about 13,000 workers at steelmaker Arcelor Mittal whose contract also expired in June. Those negotiations continue.

Details of the deal will be released after the ratification process.

That process could take weeks.

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(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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