Key Highlights

  • The agreements cover approximately 12,000 USW-represented employees across steel plants and Mining operations.
  • Sites involved are located in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Michigan.
  • The four-year agreements resolve all USW contracts that were up for renewal.
  • The deals remain subject to ratification by USW local union memberships.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) announced on November 6, 2026 that it has reached new four-year labor agreements with the United Steelworkers, known as the USW, across its operating footprint. The Cleveland, Ohio based steel producer described the agreements as resolving all of the USW labor contracts that were up for renewal at that time. The company is a North American steel producer with a focus on value-added sheet products, particularly for the automotive industry.

Scope of the Agreements

The agreements cover approximately 12,000 USW-represented employees working at the company's steel plants and mining operations in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Michigan. Because the company is vertically integrated, its labor base spans iron ore mining, pellet and direct reduced iron production, scrap processing, primary steelmaking and Downstream finishing, stamping, tooling and tubing operations.

The new contracts run for four years and are subject to ratification by local union memberships. Until that ratification process is complete, the company's ability to recognize the benefits of the agreements remains one of the uncertainties the company lists in its forward-looking statements.

Company Background and Workforce

Cleveland-Cliffs employs approximately 25,000 people across its operations in the United States and Canada. The company's headquarters are in Cleveland, Ohio. He also credited the union's Leadership with a constructive approach during negotiations.

The steel industry has historically been subject to labor cost pressures and long-running contract cycles, and multi-year agreements of this kind are common in the sector.

Risks and Industry Conditions

These include the ratification of the agreements, the ability to realize their benefits, and continued Volatility in steel, scrap and iron ore prices. The company also cites cyclical Demand in the steel industry, reliance on the automotive sector, global excess steelmaking capacity, steel imports, and trade policy developments, including Section 232 tariffs and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

These factors are described in the company's forward-looking statements and in its Annual Report on Form 10-K, which contains a fuller set of risk factors.

The company describes its operations as focused on value-added sheet products, particularly for automotive customers. Because steel production depends on skilled workforces at mines, mills and finishing lines, the scope of these agreements, which covers both steel plants and mining operations, is broader than a single site. The company said the agreements resolve every USW contract due for renewal at that time, which removes a set of open negotiations from its near-term agenda.

Labor agreements in the steel sector are often examined for their effect on the cost base, since wages, benefits and work rules form a large part of production costs. A full picture of their financial effect would require the company's future filings, which are likely to include details on labor costs within its operating results.

Cleveland-Cliffs operates steel plants and mines across the Midwest, and its labor base is spread across several of those sites. Four-year agreements give both the company and its workers a defined period for planning wages, staffing and investment. With about 25,000 people employed in the United States and Canada, the covered group of roughly 12,000 USW members represents close to half of the company's headcount, so the outcome of the ratification votes will shape a large part of its workforce arrangements.

Cleveland-Cliffs' vertical integration means that labor agreements at its mines feed directly into pellet and steelmaking operations. Its finishing, stamping and tubing businesses rely on the same workforce, so contract outcomes affect the full chain from iron ore to sheet products for automotive buyers.

Final Word

Cleveland-Cliffs' announcement resolves its scheduled USW contract renewals across five states, covering roughly 12,000 employees. The agreements are four years in length and still require ratification by local union memberships.