WEIRTON, W.Va. -- Union leaders with the United Steelworkers of America announced Friday that calling a strike was not in the best interest of its members. ArcelorMittal and the USW continued talks as the contract is set to expire on Sept. 1.

The USW said in a newsletter Friday, "If management chooses to continue with the dangerous and irresponsible positions and actions they have taken up to this point, we may have to revisit our decision not to strike."

A spokesperson with ArcelorMittal released a comment about the negotiations through email saying the company "remains optimistic about reaching a fair and equitable contract with the USW without a work stoppage. ... As a precautionary measure and consistent with measures taken during past labor negotiations, ArcelorMittal has recently begun the process of taking asset preservation steps at its facilities should a work stoppage occur."

Look for updates on the negotiations, on NEWS9 and WTOV9.com.