Gerdau Ameristeel resumes normal operations at Beaumont Mill

Beaumont, TX— After more than 11 months of negotiations, Gerdau Ameristeel announced that on December 12, 2005, it began to resume normal operations and welcome back the company’s 269 employees at its steel wire rod mill in Beaumont, Texas.

Operations at the mill were halted by the company in May 2005 as a result of a labor dispute with United Steel Workers of America Local 8586.

“The company has met in good faith with union representatives for more than 11 months,” said Philip Bell, director of Human Resources for Gerdau Ameristeel. “We met on more than 50 occasions but have not achieved an agreement to date. It’s time now to get our employees back to work and normalize production.”

With regard to a final contract, Bell continues, “The company and union have reached tentative agreements on many key topics including wage proposals, the length of the contract and most items related to employee health care. However, there are a handful of issues that remain unresolved and negotiations for a final agreement are ongoing.”