Photo/Illutration A sign of Nippon Steel Corp. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. made a direct appeal to workers of takeover target United States Steel Corp., saying their union leaders have been providing misinformation about the acquisition bid.

In a statement released on Sept. 23, Nippon Steel, which has struggled to gain approval for the takeover plan, said it wants workers of the U.S. company to correctly understand the intentions of the Japanese company.

The statement was issued by Takahiro Mori, the Nippon Steel vice chairman responsible for overseeing the acquisition.

He said Nippon Steel has been seeking discussions with United Steelworkers (USW), the powerful trade union that opposes the takeover plan, and its president, David McCall.

“Mr. McCall has not negotiated with us at all,” Mori said in the statement, “We just need USW International leadership to come to the table.”

Mori also said USW leadership recently provided U.S. Steel workers a list of Nippon Steel’s commitments that “contained numerous inaccuracies.”

He wrote that he wanted to share his company’s commitments directly with the workers. These include maintaining blast furnace operations for the long term, investing $1.3 billion (190 billion yen) in blast furnace and other facilities, and protecting workers’ jobs, benefits and pensions.

Mori emphasized that these commitments “are legally binding.”

The USW represents about 1.2 million people, including retired employees and workers in other industries. USW members include employees at another major U.S. steel manufacturer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., which lost to Nippon Steel in the bid to acquire U.S. Steel.

The USW has long held influence in U.S. politics.

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