After meeting in Pittsburgh, local presidents and other officers of the United Steelworkers union (USW) unanimously ratified today the labor contract reached by David McCall, chief USW negotiator, with RG Steel, sources told The Brew.

The USW will mail a summary of the proposed contract – whose terms have not been disclosed – to 6,000 members, including about 1,800 from the Sparrows Point steel mill. The agreement will include a mail-in ballot and voting instructions for employees in accordance with procedures set by the union’s Basic Steel Industry Conference.

RG Steel last week announced the purchase of Baltimore’s Sparrows Point – plus the Warren and Wheeling-Pitt steel operations in Ohio and West Virginia – from Russian-based Severstal.

RS Steel is a subsidiary of Renco Group, owned by New York billionaire Ira Rennert.

Because a labor agreement was never reached with Severstal, union workers at Sparrows, Warren and Wheeling are covered by a contract that expired in September 2008. This contract has wage and other benefits below the basic labor agreement signed in 2008 by U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal and other companies.

The terms of the contract with RG Steel are keenly anticipated by union members, who were repeatedly told to expect a new contract with Severstal with a signing bonus and improved wages and/or incentives.

Currently, about half the workforce is laid off by Severstal. RG Steel said it anticipates completing the purchase of the three mills by the end of March. It has not yet announced a business plan for the mills.