Tina Jesme was standing on a "practice picket" line Wednesday afternoon just outside the Minorca Mine north of Virginia when her cell phone rang.
Appropriately enough, it was Jesme's father, Bill Wiitanen, who walked a real picket line outside the mine when he was a young worker, in 1977.
Wiitanen had been working as a welder at the mine for just a few months when he and his fellow workers went on strike. The work stoppage lasted about four months, "and that was rough," Wiitanen recalls. "There wasn't a lot of money then."
On Wednesday, about one-third of the work force at the ArcelorMittal Minorca Mine waved signs saying "Just Practice" as they walked a pretend picket line on the north end of Virginia.
"Hey, pops," Jesme said as she answered her phone. "We're still here, practice picketing."
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Contract negotiations for ArcelorMittal employees are ongoing, though the latest contract expired on Saturday night. Workers are continuing under their old contract.
Mine workers were protesting a move by ArcelorMittal USA management in ongoing contract negotiations, said Tony Ebnet, a communications official with Local 6115 representing about 300 workers at the Minorca Mine. Among other proposals, company officials had proposed reduced funding to the benefit trust that helps pay for retiree health care premiums, Ebnet said.
The practice strike was called in part to "shock people a little bit," said Ebnet, who has worked at the mine for about a year and a half as a millwright.
"We're not going to take any concessions," Ebnet said.
All 14,000 ArcelorMittal employees across the country were asked to take part in similar practice strikes, Ebnet said. Organizers began planning the practice strike on Tuesday, and word quickly spread among the union members to show up outside the mine on Wednesday. Ebnet was pleased with the turnout.
"We're preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best," Ebnet said.
Tony Montana, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers union said the "corporate-wide mobilizations" took place at 15 ArcelorMittal plants, as well as at the company's U.S. headquarters in Chicago.
"Our members held spirited rallies to show their solidarity with our bargaining committee as we continue negotiating for a fair contract at ArcelorMittal," Montana told Reuters in a telephone interview.
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The Luxembourg-based company, the world's largest steelmaker, took precautionary measures at its plants last week in case of a strike. The union said it has not taken the strike option off the table.
William Steers, a spokesman for ArcelorMittal USA in Chicago, did not comment on the USW action.
"Negotiations continue between ArcelorMittal and the United Steelworkers. We remain optimistic about reaching a fair and equitable contract with the USW," he said in an e-mail to Reuters.
The possibility of a work stoppage comes at a difficult time for the steel industry, which is suffering from weak demand and low prices. U.S. steelmakers have cut capacity to manage supply, but demand has still not returned to pre-recession levels.
Last month, ArcelorMittal said tough market conditions would continue into the second half of the year, particularly in Europe, where it lowered its consumption forecast due to the severity of the slowdown. ArcelorMittal stock closed down 1.8 percent at $14.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Back in Virginia, car and truck horns blared as they passed the practice strikers, with many people waving in support and some stopping to chat with workers.
Jesme, a lab analyst who has worked for 17 years at the mine, waved back. Jesme's husband, brother and brother-in-law also work at the mine.
"We've all got to stick together," Jesme said.
