WEIRTON STEEL Union leader says negotiations, though difficult, will continue

Weirton Steel labor talks are following the ISG model of job cuts.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Contract talks between Weirton Steel Corp. and its unions are "difficult and very demanding," with health care, pensions, layoffs and job reassignments still on the table, union leaders said Monday.
However, the negotiations will continue for the foreseeable future, said Dave Gossett, a spokesman for the 3,000-member Independent Steelworkers Union.
"The company's asking for a lot, but that's part of the negotiating process," he said.
Weirton Steel is the nation's fifth-largest integrated steelmaker and employs about 3,500 people.
Talks began in June, a month after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and four months after workers agreed to concessions that included a 5 percent pay cut.
In February, the ISU and the smaller Independent Guard Union ratified a contract that canceled a planned $1 per hour raise and froze accrued pension benefits to stop a $400 million liability from becoming any larger.
Company spokesman Gregg Warren declined to discuss any specifics.
Complications
ISU President Mark Glyptis said two factors complicate the discussions -- the restrictions of bankruptcy court and the emergence of "the ISG contract model."
Cleveland-based ISG, or International Steel Group, was formed last year when New York buyout firm WL Ross & amp; Co. bought the assets of bankrupt LTV Corp. and Bethlehem Steel Corp., becoming the nation's second-largest integrated producer.
"If you look at the ISG model, job cuts and reassignments are part of that model," Gossett said. "ISG created the model, U.S. Steel followed the model and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel followed that model. It's becoming the contract model for the integrated steel industry."