Cleveland-Cliffs Employees Urge Support for the U.S. Steel Industry

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The president of United Steelworkers 2911 and organizers of a rally to support Cleveland-Cliffs’ Weirton tin mill are turning to President Joe Biden for higher tariffs to deter the import of subsidized foreign steel.

Local 2911 President Mark Glyptis was one of many speakers, including public officials and past and present Weirton steelworkers, at Saturday’s rally who urged public support for a petition calling for the president’s action.

“The only way this can be changed is through the president,” he told several hundred area residents who braved the rain and gathered outside of the Millsop Community Center.

Glyptis said Cleveland-Cliffs officials haven’t yet called for the Weirton facility’s closing, though they have said it will be idled indefinitely.

While about 900 employed there are slated to receive Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act letters beginning April 15, Glyptis is hopeful the plant can be saved through Biden and local representatives to Congress on both sides of the Ohio River who have vowed support.

He called the U.S. International Trade Commission’s ruling in February against the tariffs “totally un-American, a travesty. They’re American and they should be watching out for other Americans and not for other companies.”

Glyptis said after learning about 800 foreign steel coils had been transported to warehouses in Weirton, the union and Cleveland-Cliffs filed an anti-dumping case with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

He noted testimony by steel leaders appeared to have been received favorably, with the Department of Commerce finding that imported steel from four countries were being sold in the U.S. at less than their market value.

At the rally Glyptis said Chinese steel has been sold for about $1,000 per ton in the U.S. when its actual market value is about $2,000 per ton, while steel from Canada, Germany and Korea also has been sold here for well under its fair market value.

“But the International Trade Commission has determined they are free to sell their product at the prices they wish,” he said.

Glyptis said millions of dollars have been invested to improve operations at the Weirton tin mill while its workers have undergone additional training, but they can’t compete with foreign product that has been unfairly dumped in the U.S.

Tariffs on imported steel were initiated under President Trump and maintained until recently under President Biden. Citing a glut of steel from eight countries they said could cripple the U.S.-based steel firms, Cleveland-Cliffs pushed for higher tariffs.

But leaders of the Consumer Brands Association, a national organization representing manufacturers of various household products; and others have pushed against them, saying it would result in substantially higher prices for their products.

Many at the rally expressed concern of an eventual elimination of the American steel industry, often citing reports of a potential sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

Glyptis said, “It should be a major concern to America. If Nippon is allowed to buy U.S. Steel, it will affect national security.”

Walter Danna of Avella, a retired Weirton Steel employee with 30 years there, noted many local women worked at the plant during World War II to supply the military with artillery shells. He questioned the impact of foreign-owned steel mills on the availability of munitions in any future conflicts.

He suggested Steelworkers and their supporters should remember politicians who have been supportive of the industry when they enter the polls this year.

Rich Archileti of Weirton, whose father worked at Weirton Steel for 42 years, said, “I’m very concerned about it because this town, this whole area, was built on steel.”

Kaitlyn Hall, who was among Cleveland-Cliffs employees who organized the rally, said the plant’s closure would impact more than those who work there.

“It’s going to affect the whole community, not only the 900 employees. It’s just sad,” she said.

Co-worker and fellow organizer Robbie James also sees it as part of an overall threat to the American steel industry.

“This mill has been here since 1909 and it means a lot to the city. But this (the foreign steel issue) doesn’t just affect Weirton. It affects the whole U.S. We’re the infrastructure of America and we’re losing our jobs,” he said.

James said through the rally, a Facebook page at Save Weirton Steel, and an online petition at Change.org, he and others hope to raise awareness and influence public officials to support the Weirton plant.

 Courtesy: www.reviewonline.com