By Michael Richter
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Following the announcement of the $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese steelmaker Monday, local elected officials are divided on the future of the region’s legendary manufacturing company.
U.S. Steel will keep its name and its headquarters in Pittsburgh, where it was founded in 1901 by J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie. It will become a subsidiary of Nippon.
Nippon Steel Corp., the largest steel producer in Japan, acquired U.S. Steel Monday. According to a news release, NSC will honor “all agreements between U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers Union.”
The price tag for U.S. Steel is nearly double what was offered just four months ago by rival Cleveland Cliffs. U.S. Steel, which rejected that offer, confirmed the offering price from Nippon early Monday.
U.S. Steel employs more than 3,700 people across Pennsylvania, including more than 3,000 at the Mon Valley facilities.
“This is going to increase competition here in the United States with a great ally to the United States,” stated U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt. “It’s a great fit and we do not see that as a high level risk factor. We’d say low level of risk.”
The United Steelworkers labor union and Democratic U.S. Sens. John Fetterman — the one-time mayor of Braddock — and Bob Casey were critical of the deal.
United Steelworkers, which represents unionized workers at U.S. Steel, ripped the sale and said neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon reached out to the union regarding the deal.
Steelworkers President David McCall said the sale demonstrates a greedy and shortsighted attitude by U.S. Steel.
“USW does not believe that Nippon understands the full breadth of the obligations of all our agreements, and we do not know whether it has the capacity to live up to our existing contract,” McCall said. “This includes not just the day-to-day commitments of our labor agreement but also significant obligations to fund pension and retiree insurance benefits that are the most extensive in the domestic steel industry.”
Fetterman posted a video on his social media pages of himself standing across the street from the Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock Monday, condemning U.S. Steel for selling its company to a foreign nation.
“… And I am committed to doing anything I can do for using my platform or my position in order to block this,” Fetterman stated. “And I’m going to fight for the steelworkers and their union way of here as well, too. And we cannot ever allow them to be screwed over or left behind.”
Casey echoed Fetterman’s sentiments.
“The United States’ marquee steel company should remain under American ownership. From initial reports, this deal appears to be a bad deal for Pennsylvania and for Pennsylvania workers,” Casey said. “I’m concerned about what this means for the Steelworkers and the good union jobs that have supported Pennsylvania families for generations, for the long-term investment in the Commonwealth and for American industrial leadership.”
Other local legislators remained optimistic.
“U.S. Steel helped build this country and we will continue to do all we can to maintain its presence where it belongs – Pittsburgh,” said state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield Township, in a statement. “While details of the sale are still to be determined, it’s encouraging to hear the collective bargaining agreements will be honored and U.S. Steel will remain a part of the fabric of our community.”
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, views the acquisition as a positive sign, she told the Mon Valley Independent Monday.
“I’m optimistic and pleased that the collective bargaining agreement is being honored and that they’re keeping the headquarters and the iconic name of U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh,” Bartolotta said. “That’s huge.”
Bartolotta believes the deal will give U.S. Steel the opportunity to continue to operate in the Mon Valley.
“This is a highly, highly capitalized global player, and they are poised to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize steelmaking in Pittsburgh,” she said.
“So I’m fingers crossed that this is something that will come to fruition because they will keep steelmaking alive in the U.S. We were a number one player for generations. And to ignore the opportunity that’s right here before us, I think, would be foolhardy.”
State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, was saddened by the news of U.S. Steel’s acquisition.
“I’m sad because they’re such an iconic business, and they have meant so much to the Mon Valley in particular for over 100 years,” Brewster told the Mon Valley Independent Monday.
Brewster added that he is a “labor person.”
“And I hope the new company understands that we support the steelworkers and all the other local businesses that are tied to U.S. Steel,” he said. “I’m going to fiercely support our union labor, our steelworkers, our men and women.”
Brewster has supported U.S. Steel as he believed it was committed to a climate-friendly transition while supporting its workers – a process that he said takes time.
“And I’m hopeful that the new owner will recognize the strategy that’s been put in place to deal with our climate, but also to maintain every job,” he said. “I don’t want to see one job lost. That’s the business I’m in.”
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