United Steelworkers Says 2,000 Workers to Strike Against Asarco

(Bloomberg) -- The United Steelworkers said about 2,000 hourly workers at five Asarco LLC locations in Arizona and Texas have voted to strike against the Grupo Mexico subsidiary’s labor practices, according to a statement from the union.

United Steelworkers said Asarco’s four-year contract proposal included no wage increase for nearly two-thirds of workers, a freeze to the existing pension plan, and more than doubled the out-of pocket contributions individual workers pay for health care.

The union said it is willing to resume bargaining, and said it provided 48 hours notice to terminate the extension agreement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thuy Ong in Sydney at hong35@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Natnicha Chuwiruch

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