More Than 400 Sibanye‑Stillwater Workers Walk Off in Strike at Montana Mine

Overview

• The strike began Thursday morning at 7 a.m. when more than 400 miners and smelter workers at the Nye operations and Columbus metallurgical complex walked off the job and shifts were paused for safety.
• The United Steelworkers says its primary demands are to preserve current health-care costs and long-term disability coverage and to stop a company plan to move from individual to team-based incentive pay.
• Sibanye‑Stillwater says a tentative agreement had been reached that the union did not ratify, rejects claims of bad-faith bargaining, and argues pay and benefit changes are needed as the business shifts toward mechanized operations.
• Workers and union members say the incentive change could cut some individuals' pay by roughly $20,000 to $30,000 a year, creating immediate strain for employees and their families in Stillwater County.
• Both sides say they are awaiting contact from the other to return to the bargaining table, and the dispute follows the company’s disclosure of about $500 million in losses over the past 3½ years that it says threaten long-term operations.