[ferro-alloys.com]The United Steelworkers and US Steel have a tentative agreement in place for a new four-year labor contract alongside a unanimous recommendation from the union's bargaining committee, both parties said Monday.

In an update, the USW said it had reached an agreement and plans to have details soon on local meetings for its members.

The two sides had locked in contentious negotiations over a deal after a three-year deal expired September 1.

Both parties agreed to continuing working under a 48-hour rolling extension of the expired agreement until a new contract could be ratified or a work stoppage began.

In its latest public proposal, US Steel extended the terms of the contract to six years and included an operational assurance the steelmaker would restart construction of an electric-arc furnace in Fairfield, Alabama, as well as retaining the No. 6 heat-treat assets at Lorain Tubular operations in Ohio.

However, in its own statement, US Steel said it had reached a four-year collective bargaining agreement, indicating a two-year reduction from its previous proposal. The agreement will cover about 14,000 USW members across all of US Steel facilities, the company said.

No other details on the tentative agreement were made available and it is still subject to a ratification vote by USW members. The timeframe on the vote was not set, as bargaining committee members were in the process of establishing a schedule with members.

The USW is also continuing its negotiations with ArcelorMittal for a new labor agreement. On Friday, the USW warned ArcelorMittal of a potential work stoppage in the US.

"ArcelorMittal management is provoking a work stoppage that promises to bring pain to the communities in which it operates," the USW said in an update to its members.

• [Editor:王可]