Union steelworkers at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation gave their employer just the lifeline it needed Wednesday, when a modified labor agreement with the company was overwhelmingly approved... 81.2% of the votes came in favor of the contract, with 19.8% against it. It's the final piece of the puzzle for Wheeling-Pitt which will spell the company's emergence from bankruptcy.

First, Wheeling-Pitt was approved in the Spring for a $250 million Emergency Steel Loan guarantee by the Federal government, for a loan given to the company by the Royal Bank of Canada. Then Wheeling-Pitt's parent company, WHX struck a deal with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, putting Wheeling-Pitt's pensions back in company hands, securing their future. Gaining USWA approval for the modified labor agreement was the essential last step for the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee to be confirmed. Now sources close to Wheeling-Pittsburgh say the steelmaker could emerge from bankruptcy by week's end.

The new labor contract comes at a cost--namely jobs. About 650 Union jobs will likely be cut from the company under the new deal. Local union chiefs tell NEWS 9 they're hoping to eliminate all those jobs through early, voluntary retirement. Aside from this grim detail, Union leaders like Doug Outward, Vice President at USWA Local 1238 in Martins Ferry say the mood inside the plants and union halls is very upbeat, especially now that the company appears to have a brighter future.

--Rick Terry, NEWS 9 Wheeling