AK Steel Corp. has reached agreement with the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) to extend for nearly two years a collective bargaining agreement covering USWA-represented employees at the company's Mansfield Works in Ohio.

AK Steel said that wages and all other contract provisions remain unchanged from the collective bargaining agreement that was finalized in January of 2004. The agreement, which is now scheduled to expire on February 10, 2007, replaces an existing bargaining agreement that was scheduled to expire March 31, 2005. The new extension agreement provides for lump sum payments to be made by April 30, 2005 and February 10, 2006.

The USWA notified AK Steel officials that bargaining unit members ratified the extension in voting on Thursday, Feb. 17. "We are quite pleased to have extended this agreement well ahead of the scheduled expiration," said James L. Wainscott, President and CEO of AK Steel. "We believe the agreement is equitable and beneficial to Mansfield Works employees and the company. I commend members of the USWA and the management of Mansfield Works for their cooperative efforts that have led to record safety, quality and productivity gains since we finalized our bargaining agreement in January of 2004," he said.

USWA Local 169 represents about 315 hourly production and maintenance employees.

Headquartered in Middletown, AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products for automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets, as well as tubular steel products. AK Steel's Mansfield Works primarily produces stainless flat-rolled steels for the automotive exhaust market.