Union Workers Ratify Five-Year Contract with Kennecott Utah Copper

SALT LAKE CITY, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) said that workers have ratified a new, five-year labor agreement with Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation, covering more than 1,300 hourly workers at the Rio Tinto subsidiary's mine in Salt Lake County.

The new contract includes gains for workers that include lump sum payments, wage increases in each year as well as other contract improvements, and it maintains and improves health and life insurance benefits.

USW District 12 Director Gaylan Prescott, who co-chaired the negotiations, said that workers stood together to demand the fair contract they have earned.

"Members of four different unions showed tremendous solidarity throughout the bargaining process," Prescott said. "Together, we sent management the unmistakable message that union workers would settle for nothing less than the opportunity to continue improving the standard of living for ourselves and our families."

While the USW represents about 900 of the hourly workers at Kennecott, others employees covered by the contract include members of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Workers at Kennecott rejected a previous contract offer from the company on March 18, 2022.

Many terms of the newly ratified agreement will take effect immediately, and it is scheduled to expire on April 1, 2027.

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in tech, public sector and service occupations.

More information, contact: Tony Montana, 412-562-2592, tmontana@usw.org

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SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)