US Steel reported Wednesday that an arbitration panel had ruled in favor of Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion takeover of the company, but the United Steelworkers union disagreed with the decision.
The board, which was jointly appointed by the company and the union to resolve disputes, found that US Steel had complied with all the terms of the successor clause in the basic employment agreement with the USW.
“The arbitrators accepted Nippon Steel’s statement that it would accept the Basic Labor Agreement without further ado,” USW said.
The union said the decision did not change its opposition to the deal.
“We remain focused on building a productive relationship with the USW, including fulfilling our commitments that go well beyond what is currently required under the existing BLA,” Nippon Steel said in a statement.
The deal has faced political opposition since it was signed last December, with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger Donald Trump opting to keep US Steel in American hands.
Nippon Steel had paid a hefty premium to secure the deal for US Steel, as it expected to benefit from US President Joe Biden’s infrastructure spending law.
Earlier this month, US Steel warned that if the deal fails, thousands of American union jobs will be at risk. It also said it would close some steel mills and possibly move its headquarters out of the politically important state of Pennsylvania.
Nippon Steel aims to close the deal by the end of December, pending regulatory approval. This month, the company resubmitted a request for approval to the U.S. National Security Commission, delaying a decision on the politically sensitive merger until after the Nov. 5 presidential election.
