NEW CARLISLE — More than 400 local steelworkers could soon be walking the picket line after a unanimous vote Wednesday to authorize a strike at New Carlisle's I/N Tek I/N Kote plant.

The strike could be called as early as Monday if more than 14,500 United Steelworkers union members across the country don't agree to a new contract with Japanese based ArcelorMittal Steel N.V. ArcelorMittal’s subsidiary Mittal Steel USA is one of two parent companies of I/N Tek I/N Kote. Mittal USA began a joint venture at the plant with Japanese based Nippon Steel Corporation in 2005.

About 420 local union workers are employed at the New Carlisle plant, according to union leadership. That’s nearly 1/3rd of the entire town’s population.

Workers at New Carlisle’s USW Local 9231 voted unanimously to authorize the strike during three separate ballots on Wednesday. Many of the 15 other USW Locals representing Mittal Steel workers also recorded unanimous strike authorization votes, including 1,400 workers at Local 1011 in East Chicago and 3,400 workers at Local 1010 in Burns Harbor, Indiana.

Uncertainty was in the air as a steady line of workers filed in to cast their ballots at the Local 9231 union hall in New Carlisle, just minutes outside the I/N Tek I/N Kote plant.

"It's a tense situation,” said Local 9231 union member Wade Blaker.

But in the end, there was little doubt of the outcome.

"Not a single person voted against it,” said Local 9231 President Todd Kegley.

Kegley says there's a “single” reason why.

"Retiree health care is the biggest sticking point,” Kegley said. “The pattern would raise our premiums by 850% for retirees. That's a big deal."

Union workers tell WSBT News Mittal’s latest contract offer would raise retired employees out of pocket health care contributions to as high as $150 per month.

“This contract isn’t about right now,” said Local 9231 Vice-President George Bauer. “It’s about the future. It’s about our past retirees, our workers today, and our future workers.”

Another roadblock at many of the other Locals is capital expenditures.

“How much the company is willing to invest in the future, on plant improvements, personnel, and things like that,” Bauer continued. “We want to insure we continue to make the best steel in the world. They could ship the processing out of the United States. They could ship the processing to Canada or to Mexico. That’s a huge concern.”

But it’s less of a concern in New Carlisle. At least, it was.

Mittal and Nippon announced plans earlier this year to double the size of the I/N Tek I/N Kote Plant, creating 100 new jobs by 2010.

The companies will invest more than $240 million to build and equip a 240,000 square foot facility at the existing site on U.S. 20.

New Carlisle’s Town Council approved a 10-year tax abatement to help draw the development, but town leaders say, even with the abatement, the new construction will still bring in an estimated $15 million in new taxes.

The companies had planned to break ground on the project later this year.

But some workers worried Wednesday that stalled labor talks could put that on hold, or even derail expansion plans altogether.

“Anything is possible,” acknowledged Kegley when asked if the concerns were valid. “But, we hope it doesn't come to that."

So does ArcelorMittal. External Communications Manager Adam Warrington released the following statement following the strike votes Wednesday:

Talks between ArcelorMittal management and the USW continue with frequent meetings throughout the day in Pittsburgh. The company and Union have reached tentative agreements on many of the outstanding issues, but continue negotiating on a handful of topics.

ArcelorMittal is aware that the USW membership has voted for a strike authorization, however negotiations continue and we remain committed to working with the USW to reach a settlement by Sept 1.

It is important to note that the strike authorization vote is an agreement by the union membership to authorize a strike if it becomes necessary and is not a declaration of a strike.

A strike is only authorized when USW International leadership informs the company of its intent to strike.

ArcelorMittal is committed to honoring our previous agreement with the USW to not discuss details of the negotiations with the media.

Kegley says workers are committed to reaching a settlement, too, and are also optimistic.

“We’ve been hopeful [that a deal can be reached] for 14 weeks, four months. We’ve been moving along a path where we think we’ll get to a deal. I think we still will,” he said. “I think there’s a mutual interest that we get this done.”

But Kegley says workers are also realistic.

"We have four days to go before our contract's up. We have no more time. We have to have the vote," he said.

It's a new position for almost every worker at the New Carlisle plant.

"I have almost 30 years working for this company, and I’ve never personally been this close to a strike," said Blaker. “But we have to take a stand here.”

It’s a frightening thought for local businesses.

"It would have a big impact on the business, because they buy quite a bit of material here,” said John Nugteren, an employee at Houston’s Pro Hardware in downtown New Carlisle. “[That's out of our bottom line.]”

But an even bigger concern is the impact on the town itself.

“It would have a big impact [there too], I’m sure it would,” said Nugteren.

"It's not good," agreed Bauer, when asked about the impact on the area’s economy and workforce. “[It's a big deal], yes, it is."

For now, as the clock ticks toward a deadline just 96 hours away, just how deep that impact might be remains uncertain. The hope from workers now is that no one will have to find out.

Negotiators from the two sides will meet again at the bargaining table in Pittsburgh on Friday. If a final deal isn’t reached by Monday, union leadership from the International United Steelworkers could call a work stoppage.

But there are other options.

“We could extend the current contract. We could continue to work under the old contract with the same wages and benefits. We could work without a contract,” said Kegley.

“We [worked]16-17 months without a contract in 2004-2005,” said Blaker. “That was when [Mittal and Nippon] were merging at the plant, but I’m not sure that would work again.”

“We can strike, or we could get locked out,” said Kegley, stating the union’s remaining options. “At the end of the day, we’re going to get this done. It’s about the path we take to get there.”