The labor union at AK Steel's mill in Butler voted overwhelmingly to reject a contract Monday night.

Various UAW Local 3303 members confirmed that 80 percent of members, or about 1,070 people, voted against a tentative contract. Changes in health insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays were causes for frustration for members, who said a 75-cent per hour raise for the contract's three years falls far short of the rising health costs.

Sam Doctor, a crane operator and active union member from Butler Township, said the contract offered by the company was insulting, given the company and steel industry's recent success.

“We worked for years during the recession to make things work,” Doctor said. “Now that we're making money, they want to come to the table and ask for more concessions.”

Doctor's father Ron Double, a 20-year veteran of the hot mill, said he was proud of his union.

“I'm just glad that people stuck together, because it's a less than favorable contract,” Double said.

A union committeeman who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak for the union, said he wasn't surprised to see the vote fall “overwhelmingly not in favor of the agreement.”

“That was the feeling of the mill,” he said. “We're not asking for a lot. Just a fair contract.”

Lisa Jester, a spokeswoman for AK Steel, confirmed the vote Tuesday and said that terms of the expiring contract will remain in effect.

“Both parties have agreed to continue to negotiate and during this time; the terms of the existing contract will remain in effect,” Jester said.

The contract previously covering workers at the mill expired Tuesday.

Jim Panei, president of the UAW Local 3303, did not return a call for comment on his union telephone line. A member at the hall explained that Panei and other union executives were flush with meetings and unavailable.

Two union employees confirmed, under the condition on anonymity, that a March vote authorizing a strike overwhelmingly passed with more than 90 percent approval.

AK Steel is the fourth largest employer in Butler County, according to the most recent rankings published by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Statistics Center for Workforce Information and Analysis.

Butler's mill is known for its production of electrical steel, a steel product with electromagnetic properties that's commonly used in items such as transformers and motors. AK Steel in particular is a leading electrical steel manufacturer in the country.

A February 2019 steel industry executive study published by the U.S. Department of Congress International Trade Administration reports that AK Steel posted a quarterly profit of $33.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

On the New York Stock Exchange, AK Steel Holding Corp. closed at $2.51 per share Tuesday, down considerably from the $4.53 per share that the stock closed at a year ago the same day.