(By Balaseshan) Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) said it has agreed to a short-term extension of its labor contract with the United Steelworkers (USW) since both parties have not reached a new agreement.
The parties have agreed that the Union will not strike and the company will not lock out until 48 hours after providing written notice to the other party of their intent to be released from this no strike/no lockout commitment.
The contract extension covers approximately 2,400 USW-represented workers at Cliffs' Empire and Tilden mines in Michigan, and its United Taconite and Hibbing Taconite mines in Minnesota.
The extension will keep the mines operating while negotiations continue. The company began this round of collective bargaining with the United Steelworkers in early May with the objective of reaching a new labor agreement.
Cliffs said it remains committed to the negotiation process and intends to reach a fair and equitable agreement.
Cliffs Natural is an international mining and natural resources company. The company is an iron ore producer and a producer of metallurgical coal. It is organized through a global commercial group responsible for sales and delivery of Cliffs products and a global operations group responsible for the production of the minerals the company markets.
CLF closed Friday's regular session up 0.25% at $35.84. The stock has been trading between $35.51 and $83.58 for the past 52 weeks.