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Tax hike on overseas profits bad news for U.S. Steel, Heinz
By Thomas Olson
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A tax increase on overseas profits of major companies -- including some of
Western Pennsylvania's biggest -- was buried in legislation recently passed by
Congress, raising hackles in corporate America.
The provision could cost companies about $10.7 billion between next year and
2020, according to estimates by the House-Senate Joint Committee on Taxation.
The tax could even press U.S. Steel Corp. to sell off its plant in Slovakia,
given the tax disadvantage the Pittsburgh steelmaker is being placed in, said a
industry analyst.
A U.S. Steel spokeswoman declined to comment on the speculation.
The provisions represent "draconian tax increases" on American companies'
worldwide operations that would "hinder job creation, decrease the
competitiveness of American businesses and deter economic growth," said R. Bruce
Josten, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The tax language was part of legislation signed into law two weeks ago,
directing the federal government to distribute $26.1 billion to the states to
help them pay for teachers, police officers and health care workers, and shore
up states' Medicaid funds.
The provision to limit or end deferred payment of taxes on foreign profits
had been included in, but then stripped from, legislation passed last month that
extended unemployment benefits.
"The corporate community is very worried about this," said Scott Hodge,
president of the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based group that studies tax
policy.
While details have yet to be crafted by the Internal Revenue Service, the law
will limit the amount of foreign taxes an American company operating abroad can
claim against their tax bill to the United States starting next year.
Charles Bradford, a steel analyst with Affiliated Research Group, said the
changes effectively will raise the tax bill on U.S. Steel's foreign operations
from 9 percent to as much as 35 percent. The increase could lead the corporation
to sell off the business in Slovakia, which U.S. Steel acquired in 2000.
"Any tax increase will make those properties of less value to U.S. Steel,
compared to somebody else, like ArcelorMittal SA, which is a foreign entity,"
said Bradford. He said ArcelorMittal would only face a 20 percent tax liability
and would have an interest in buying the Slovakian company. It was a losing
bidder in 2000.
The tax changes put U.S. Steel in an awkward position. If it sells the plant,
it lowers the corporation's overall revenue. If it chooses not to sell it, the
Slovakian business will see its after-tax profit drop significantly.
"U.S. companies are already paying, aside from Japan, the highest corporate
tax rate in the world," said the Tax Foundation's Hodge. "These provisions will
increase their tax burden at a time when they are facing very stiff competition
abroad."
H.J. Heinz Co., which generates more than 60 percent of its sales overseas,
will be affected.
"As a global food company, Heinz has always supported free trade and is
opposed to any tax law changes that put Heinz at a competitive disadvantage
versus our international peers," said spokesman Michael Mullin, who declined to
elaborate.
PPG Industries Inc., another multinational based in Pittsburgh, declined to
comment.
Spokesmen for Alcoa Inc., Downtown, and for Bayer Corp., Robinson, could not
be reached.
U.S. Steel stock, options trade up on takeover talk
Wed, Aug 18 2010
By
Steve James and
Doris Frankel
NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. Steel Corp (X.N:
Quote,
Profile,
Research,
Stock Buzz) rose more
than 6 percent and options trading exploded on Wednesday on market talk that the
steelmaker was a takeover target.
"Unconfirmed rumors that ArcelorMittal may be interested in buying U.S. Steel
at $80 per share sparked an all-out options feeding frenzy on the steel
producer," said Caitlin Duffy, equity options analyst at Interactive Brokers
Group.
TD Ameritrade chief derivatives strategist Joe Kinahan said that although the
potential suitor, ArcelorMittal, declined to comment, "the street still believes
that U.S. Steel is an attractive candidate."
In Brussels, a spokesman for Europe-based ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS:
Quote,
Profile,
Research,
Stock Buzz) (MT.N:
Quote,
Profile,
Research,
Stock Buzz), the world's
largest steelmaker, said it did not comment on market rumors. But the company
has said publicly that its acquisition and merger focus is on mining companies.
A spokesman for U.S, Steel in Pittsburgh also declined comment on the
speculation.
One steel industry analyst poured cold water on the notion, saying it made
little sense. "There would be a 1 percent chance that Mittal would bid for U.S.
Steel and a 0 percent chance that it would succeed," said Michelle Applebaum of
Steel Market Intelligence in Chicago.
She said such a deal would require U.S. Steel's domestic flat-rolled business
to be divested entirely because of antitrust issues.
Also, U.S. Steel is the only steel company with United Steelworkers (USW)
union workers that remains American domiciled and American-owned, and the USW
relies on the company's support on trade and other political issues.
"The USW has a blocking vote in any acquisition. The contract becomes null
and void in a takeover. So there is no way that the USW would allow Mittal or
any other global company to take over U.S. Steel," Applebaum said.
In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. Steel's stock was
up $2.95, or 6.23 percent, at $50.27.
The churning of the rumor mill increased demand for the steelmaker's options
as investors traded more than three calls for each single put by early
afternoon, Duffy said.
An equity call option conveys the right to purchase shares at a fixed price
up to a certain date while a put option grants the right to sell shares at a
preset price any time until expiration.
By 2:17 p.m. eastern time, investors had exchanged about 245,000 contracts on
U.S. steel, led by 192,000 calls crossing the tape, or 5.8 times the combined
average daily volume, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.
Traders positioning for U.S. Steel's shares to continue higher ahead of
Friday's expiration picked up blocks of August $50, $55 and $60 strike calls,
Duffy said.
Kinahan noted the call interest was not only in U.S. Steel's August options,
which expire on Friday after the close, but in the September $50, $51 and $52
call strikes, which were also very active. "This would suggest that the rumor
may stick around for awhile and has some credibility with the Street."
(Reporting by Steve James in New York and Doris Frankel in Chicago)
Lakeside
plans to double production capacity
TheSpec.com
- Business - Lakeside plans to double production capacity
The Canadian
Press
WELLAND
(Aug 3, 2010)
Lakeside Steel Inc. says a planned $40-million manufacturing plant in
Thomasville, Ala., will nearly double the steelmaker's total production
capacity.
Lakeside, based in Welland, announced plans last week for the new plant,
which is expected to add 195,000 tonnes of production.
The steelmaker says the new plant is being built to add capacity to meet
growing demand from U.S. customers.
Lakeside manufactures steel pipe and tubing for oil and gas, mining,
automotive and commercial and industrial supply companies
U.S. Steel
takes a turn for the better
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel takes a turn for the better
Q2 losses
improve, segment with Hamilton operations reports profit
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jul 28,
2010)
U.S. Steel dramatically narrowed its loss for the second quarter -- and
reported a profit for the segment that includes its Hamilton operations.
The Pittsburgh-based company that bought Stelco in 2007 reported a net loss
of only $25 million for the quarter, a major improvement from losses of $157
million in the first quarter of 2010 and $392 million in the second quarter of
2009.
The good news hidden in the numbers was a quarterly profit of $98 million in
the flat rolled steel segment, the part of the business that includes the former
Stelco plants in Hamilton and Nanticoke. That was a healthy turnaround from
losses of $80 million in the first quarter of 2010 and $362 million in the
second quarter of 2009.
The company also posted a profit on operations of $198 million, but that was
wiped out by currency translation losses and tax accounting.
"We posted strong operating results ... but unfortunately not all of that
impact got to the bottom line," chairman and CEO John Surma told an afternoon
conference call with industry analysts. "We are in the middle of a choppy
recovery that is going to take some time."
Surma credited the $170-million turnaround in the flat rolled segment to
higher prices, higher production and lower energy costs.
Those benefits, however, were partly offset by $60 million in maintenance
spending at the Lake Erie Works as the plant was brought back into service after
an eight-month lockout of employees.
"That was work we had to do," Surma said. "We really haven't done much since
we acquired that plant and we ran it pretty hard in 2008."
During the quarter, shipments increased 9 per cent to 5.9 million tons from
the first quarter of 2010 and sales rose 20 per cent to $4.7 billion compared to
$3.8 billion in the first quarter and $2.1 billion in the second quarter of
2009.
The company said, during the quarter, it used 82 per cent of its production
capacity, up from 73 per cent, with all of its plants working near full-throttle
except Lake Erie, which didn't get back into service until late in the quarter.
Looking ahead, the company said in a news release that while an overall
profit is expected in the third quarter, operating results will be lower because
orders and shipments are expected to slip slightly.
"It's not going to be a tremendous difference, maybe a few hundred thousand
tons," Surma told analysts. "We're not expecting a huge ramp-down, we still
think the market is approaching equilibrium."
Third-quarter results for the flat rolled sector are expected to be "near
break-even levels," the company said, due to lower trade, shipment and
production volumes, and increased costs for raw materials and energy.
sarnold@thespec.com
U.S. Steel
case moving ahead
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel case moving ahead
Appeal court
rejects steelmaker's attempt to freeze federal lawsuit against it
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jul 27,
2010)
A federal lawsuit against U.S. Steel over the way it shut down its Hamilton
plants last year is back on track.
The ruling yesterday by the Federal Court of Appeal ended the company's
effort to freeze a suit that could cost of millions of dollars in fines and lead
to the forced sale of the former Stelco.
The company wanted the freeze while it appeals an earlier ruling upholding
the Investment Canada Act.
"This decision says the case can go on and that's good," said Rolf
Gerstenberger, president of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers. "We think the
company has been stalling for too long."
The union, along with Welland-based Lakeside Steel, has been granted
intervener status in the hearings.
The union is seeking back wages for workers laid off by the company and
Lakeside wants a court-ordered sale of Stelco. The government has asked for a
fine of $10,000 a day retroactive to March 2009.
The dispute goes back to promises the company made in 2007 agreeing to
maintain jobs and production in Canada if it was permitted to buy Stelco.
But by early 2009, the company had locked out workers at its Lake Erie plant
and shut down the Hamilton operations, shifting production to its American
plants.
The company has argued it can't be required to continue making steel in the
face of collapsing demand, like that seen during the recession.
Before getting to a hearing on that issue, the court process has been bogged
down by the company's effort to get the Investment Canada Act declared
unconstitutional.
The company's argument has been that executives face the possibility of being
jailed without the protections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The lower court rejected that argument, noting jail is only a possibility if
fines are not paid and that penalty would be levied under a different act.
In yesterday's judgment, Justice Carolyn Layden-Stevenson said U.S. Steel
failed to provide any facts to support its claim it would be harmed if the stay
was not granted.
The company documents, she wrote, contain no facts "to support the bare and
conclusive assertions" it makes.
Granting the stay, she added, amounted to suspending the investment act and
that would be bad for the country.
"The Investment Canada Act has a public dimension because it is aimed at
encouraging investment, economic growth and employment opportunities for
Canadians," she wrote. "Additionally, it is aimed at ensuring proposed
investments will not be injurious to national security."
The next step is a hearing on the company's effort to have the steelworkers
and Lakeside cut out of the process. Documents on the substantive issue of the
case are to be filed with the court within seven days.
sarnold@thespec.com
Playing the
waiting game
TheSpec.com
- Business - Playing the waiting game
Judge reserves
decision on government suit against U.S. Steel
The Canadian
Press
OTTAWA (Jul
22, 2010)
The federal government's first prosecution of a foreign multinational under
the Investment Canada Act remained in limbo yesterday after a judge reserved her
decision on whether Ottawa's move is legal.
Lawyers for the government and workers at U.S. Steel's Canadian operations
had hoped for a same-day ruling that would have cleared up whether Ottawa can go
ahead and sue the steel company for failing to live up to its promises on
Canadian jobs and output.
The United Steelworkers lawyer argued speed is important in the case because
employee and production levels remain well below what U.S. Steel agreed to when
it got Investment Canada approval to buy the former Stelco Inc. for more than $1
billion three years ago.
But Federal Court of Appeals Justice Carolyn Layden-Stevenson rose from the
court after arguments with regrets she could not render a decision "at 3 p.m."
There was no estimate on when she will decide whether the government's
lawsuit can proceed.
Delay and dispute about the constitutionality of Ottawa's suit against the
U.S. steelmaker have been the hallmark of the unique case since last July, when
Industry Minister Tony Clement announced he was taking the industrial giant to
court.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp. was charged after shutting down its
Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont. plants in March 2009 after the North American
recession and auto industry restructuring battered continental steel demand.
If convicted, U.S. Steel faces fines of up to $10,000 a day, and could also
be forced to sell its Canadian plants.
Even though operations resumed this spring, Paula Turtle, the counsel for the
United Steelworkers union at the plants, said U.S. Steel remains in
non-compliance because employment levels are still about 1,000 below the
promised level.
"They came into Canada buying up significant valuable assets under the
conditions they meet certain employment and production levels and they haven't
done that," she said.
In defence, U.S. Steel has maintained it was forced to cut production because
of the recession, but the workers say the company chose to redirect Canadian
production to its U.S. plants.
In arguments yesterday, U.S. Steel lawyer Michael Barrack urged the court to
stay the proceedings until a court of appeal can rule on its argument that the
prosecution is unconstitutional because of a flawed legal procedure.
Under the rules that currently exist, Barrack said, U.S. Steel would have to
file its defence before it knew all of the case against it, which he said
contravened "fundamental justice."
That argument was previously rejected by a lower federal court, and U.S.
Steel is appealing, seeking a stay of the main case until the appeal is
exhausted.
Barrack said the delay should not inconvenience the participants since it is
unlikely the case would be completed until 2011 in any case.
"That's optimistic," responded the presiding judge. "I think it will take a
lot longer."
The government attorney said there was no reason both the appeal of procedure
and the government's case against U.S. Steel could not go ahead at the same
time.
But, if a stay is not granted, Barrack said U.S. Steel would be compelled to
file its defence within seven days. "Then the egg will be scrambled and it can't
be unscrambled," he said.
U.S. Steel
accused of discrimination
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel accused of discrimination
Women's change room moved and no longer has shower
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator-July 21
NANTICOKE
(Jul 21, 2010)
More than 30 years after many women thought the fight for equal treatment on
the job had been won, a pair of U.S. Steel Canada workers are accusing the
company of gender discrimination.
In a complaint filed with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on Monday,
Beverley McLeod and Colleen Hill say they came back to work after a lengthy
lockout early this year to find the change room and showers they'd used for
decades had been turned over to male supervisors, and the women were ordered to
use a small room two flights up in another department.
The move forced them to walk through an operating mill in their street
clothes and shoes just to get to work.
Their new locker room doesn't have a shower.
"We're doing the same work as the men and at the end of the day we have the
right to be able to take a shower and go home," McLeod said.
"This is all a step backward. We're not asking for anything new, only for
what we had before the lockout.
"It's not even safe to walk to this new room," she added. "I just don't know
why the company has done this."
McLeod has spent 25 years with U.S. Steel and the former Stelco. She said
refusing to give female workers access to the same facilities as men is just
wrong.
"When I started, sexist comments and pin-up pictures around the plant were
common," she said. "I don't get harassed at all now. I thought that whole era
had passed."
Hill, who has worked at the Lake Erie plant since it opened 30 years ago,
echoed those thoughts.
"This is an issue us women shouldn't have to be facing at this stage of the
game," she said. "This is something I've never experienced."
Five current female employees are affected by the change.
Paul Mason, human rights chair for Local 8782 of the Steelworkers, said the
complaint to the tribunal followed informal efforts by local president Bill
Ferguson and a grievance under the union's collective bargaining agreement.
"To my mind, this is a clear case of discrimination based on gender," he
said. "I can't believe we're still having this fight in 2010."
U.S. Steel spokesperson Trevor Harris said, "We consider this to be an
ongoing legal matter and have no comment."
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
U.S. Steel
wants to pause hearings
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel wants to pause hearings
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jul 21,
2010)
The next stage of a hearing that could result in the forced sale of the
former Stelco will be fought out in an Ottawa courtroom this morning.
The Federal Court of Appeal is to hear U.S. Steel's application for a stay of
proceedings in the Attorney General's application under the Investment Canada
Act seeking penalties against the company for breaking production and employment
promises it made when it bought Stelco.
U.S. Steel wants the stay until its appeal of an earlier decision by the
Federal Court's Trial Division upholding the constitutionality of the Investment
Canada Act.
The Attorney General is opposing the stay motion. The government is seeking
fines of up to $10,000 for every day the company was in breach of its promises
since March 2009.
The United Steelworkers union and Lakeside Steel -- both interveners in the
case -- also oppose any stay. Their application to be heard in today's hearing
was approved by the court in a teleconference yesterday.
The union is seeking $44 million in damages for wages lost by workers when
U.S. Steel shuttered the Stelco operation in March 2009.
Lakeside wants a sale of former Stelco assets.
'Clear cut
case of discrimination': Mason
The Simcoe Reformer
July 20, 2010
A "clear cut case of discrimination" has unfolded behind the doors of
Nanticoke's U.S. Steel plant, says Paul Mason, chair of Local 8782's political
action committee.
Women working in the hot strip finishing area have recently been stripped of
utilizing a change room/washroom in their department. Instead the former women's
change room/washroom has been handed over to salaried male colleagues in the
department.
Two of the five impacted women will now file complaints with the Canadian
Human Rights Tribunal, Mason says. He expects the tribunal will have the
documents "in their hands this week."
"The bottom line is that they're (U. S. Steel) a very difficult company to
reason with which we've tried to do," he said.
These impacted women first discovered their department change room/washroom
had been usurped after the lockout, Mason explains. A grievance was filed and
several meetings between United Steelworkers Local 8782 and U.S. Steel have
netted no results.
"They (management) say, 'It's easier for our salaried people to change here,
it's more convenient,'" he said, adding that this convenience for the men now
inconveniences the female workers.
Employee Beverley McLeod, one of two women filing a complaint, has been
unable to shower at work since that decision was imparted. The eight-minute walk
to the nearest change room is unsafe, she claims. She simply wants access to
shower facilities like her male colleagues.
"They have safe access to showers," she said, adding the salaried men have
been supportive of the women's request.
The nearest washroom located in the hot strip mill is also a 10-minute walk.
It requires the workers to pass an operating mill and climb two flights of
stairs.
While there are only five women in the department, this is a case of gender
discrimination, Mason says.
"As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter if it's one woman," he said.
"It's about accessibility."
Workers at the U.S. Steel plant in Nanticoke have recently returned to work
following a series of layoffs and a lockout last year. Waves of layoffs began
last April and culminated in August with a lockout that closed the facility. A
total of 700 members of Local 8782 were laid off. Another 200 were locked out
while 200 have retired.
A call to U.S. Steel Monday afternoon was not returned by press time.
Barbara Simpson 519-426-3528, ext. 112 bsimpson@bowesnet.com
Investigators Search For Cause Of Clairton Blast - July
15, 2010
CLAIRTON (KDKA) ―
-
2 of 2
- A decontamination center was set up at UPMC McKeesport
Hospital for victims of the Clairton Coke explosion Wednesday morning.
KDKA
Investigators are trying to piece together what caused an explosion at U.S.
Steel's Clairton Coke Works facility that injured 20 people yesterday morning.
According to a spokesperson for U.S. Steel, in all, 14 employees and six
contractors were hurt in the blast.
The incident happened while crews performed maintenance work in the basement of
the B Battery section of the facility at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The fire burned inside the B Battery section of the plant for hours following
the blast.
"There's heavy steel beams that are bent, there's blocked walls that are taken
out – it is pretty significant blast damage and it's a miracle that anybody even
walked away from that," said Bob Full, head of Allegheny County Emergency
Management.
Smoke billowed over the plant for several hours as the emergency crews let the
coke gas burn off.
"We haven't even had access to the area in question yet," added Robert
Szymanski, an official with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"My understanding is it's not safe to get in there at this point."
In the meantime, little word filtered out from the plant as to what happened.
There were unfounded rumors of a death.
Plant workers' relatives waited in fear to get some word on the fate of their
loved one inside the plant.
"It's horrible looking at this knowing that your loved one works in there and I
have no idea what's going on with him," Corrine Brooks, the wife of a plant
worker, said. "I have no idea what condition he's in."
It turns out her husband was okay.
Officials say there were no fatalities. In all, 17 people were taken to five
hospitals in the Pittsburgh area. At last report, 12 are still hospitalized.
Three are reportedly in critical condition.
OSHA has a team of investigators at the plant. The ATF and the United
Steelworkers will investigate too.
"But then before you can really begin to look at the area in detail, you have to
make sure it's safe," Mike Wright with USW International said. "First, that
there won't be any additional releases of coke gas and second that it's
structurally sound that nothing's going to fall on the investigation team when
they go in."
It's believed gas that's produced during the process of making coke fueled the
explosion and fire that burned for hours, but it's not known what ignited it.
John Chappell, a janitor at the plant, was headed to the area when it happened.
"Dirt got in my eyes – it was like a brick wall blocking me from I think the
impact of it," he said. "A big, 'Boom!' – everything went dark."
Dan Klingensmith works in the plant's machine shop.
"There was a lot of fire, a lot of dirt – a lot of dirt came out of the area so
everything was black," he said.
Last September, another explosion at the same plant killed a man. OSHA never
determined the cause for that blast.
The investigation into the current explosion could take months. The B Battery
is now idle; however, the rest of the plant is still operating.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.
All Rights Reserved.)
14 workers
injured at Pittsburgh U.S. Steel plant
TheSpec.com
- News - 14 workers injured at Pittsburgh U.S. Steel - plant July 14,
2010
Fourteen steel workers were injured in an explosion at a U.S. Steel plant
near Pittsburgh where a blast killed a worker in 2009, local media reported.
Emergency workers and over a dozen ambulances were dispatched to the Clairton
Coke Works after an explosion occurred at the plant just before 10 a.m., KDKA-TV
reported.
Fourteen workers been hospitalized after suffering minor to moderate injuries
in the explosion, which was related to a gas line, steel union officials told
the station.
A company spokeswoman would not immediately confirm the news, but aerial
video showed smoke rising from the sprawling plant and the area swarming with
emergency workers.
The plant is about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh and is the largest coke
manufacturing facility in the U.S. A maintenance worker died in an explosion
there in September 2009 in a gas-cleaning section of the plant.
Click
here for more on this story from KDKA.
Savage
buoyant about steel industry
TheSpec.com - Business - Savage buoyant about steel industry
New
ArcelorMittal Dofasco vice-president, manufacturing, says plant in 'niche'
position
Steve Arnold
The
Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 14,
2010)
Bob Savage has spent a lifetime in the heart of Hamilton's steel industry.
Now he's going to be its head as well.
The 35-year veteran Dofasco employee has been named vice-president of
manufacturing for the company now called ArcelorMittal Dofasco.
The job puts him in charge of everything that happens between the company's
bayfront docking yard and the exit gates where coils of steel start their
journey to final customers.
Where some are tempted to say Hamilton's days as a manufacturing centre are
over, Savage has a different view of the future.
"There is still a strong manufacturing core in Hamilton, and Canada, and
that core is going to need steel," he said in an interview. "I'm not a doom
and gloom guy about the future.
"We are still a manufacturing-based economy in Hamilton," he added. "We
still have a strong manufacturing base here."
Savage has a similarly positive outlook for the future of the former
Dofasco operations as part of a global steelmaking company.
After a whirlwind of courtships starting in 2005, Dofasco has for the past
three years been part of the global ArcelorMittal steel giant's Flat Carbon
Steel American division, headquartered in Chicago. The group also includes
operations in the United States and South America.
Within that structure, he added, the Hamilton operation has created a good
niche for itself.
"We're seen as one of the better plants in the ArcelorMittal group," he
said. "We're one of the three highest performing plants in the chain."
While Dofasco always had a strong reputation as a research-intensive
producer with an eye on high value-added products, the merger has given it
strengths the company would never have gained on its own, he said.
"ArcelorMittal has a strong research and development department, much
bigger than we could have hoped to have as an independent company," Savage
said.
"We're really counting on those guys to help us in the future."
Before that age of new products and new methods of making steel dawns,
however, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, along with the rest of Canadian industry, has
to overcome a demographic challenge -- the average of a steel worker in
Hamilton now is 48 and with retirement possible after 30 years almost half the
company's existing workforce is retirement eligible today.
"There's a real demographic wave coming through this company and society in
general," he said. "A lot of our shift workers and maintenance works, and
office workers, will start thinking about retirement soon. It will affect
everyone, although our particular concerns right now is around maintenance."
To handle that coming wave, the company operates one of the largest trades
training programs in the country and is working closely with McMaster
University and Mohawk College on new programs.
"We're going to be ramping all of these efforts up to the max," he said.
Savage was born in Britain but raised in Baie-Comeau and Montreal, Quebec.
He joined Dofasco in 1975 after receiving a degree in metallurgical
engineering from Queen's University. In 1981 he earned an MBA from McMaster.
Before taking on his current job on June 30 he was the general manager of
primary manufacturing.
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
Post Tribune - (post-trib.com)
July 13, 2010
GARY -- The Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration is on site
investigating the accident that sent a U.S. Steel Gary Works worker to the
hospital with fractures last week. The injured worker remains hospitalized.
"OSHA is aware of the accident and we are working with the labor and
management investigation teams on site to investigate the causes behind the
accident," OSHA spokesman Marc Lotter confirmed to the Post-Tribune on Monday.
"The case has been assigned since we've been aware of it."
A union representative said he complained to OSHA after a transfer car
carrying raw materials on the high line to the blast furnaces tipped over at
12:30 a.m. Wednesday, sending a worker 25-30 feet into the ore yard.
The worker is still in the hospital with multiple fractures.
"He is stable. All I know for certain is, he had a fractured arm, forearm,
fractured lower tibia, fractured lower pelvis, punctured lung, cuts. Nothing
inside that transfer car is soft. He got tossed around there without any
restraint. He's having corrective surgery on his arm and leg and they're
starting on his hip," the union rep said. "He's going to be off work for a long
time. I hate that this has happened. None of us want to see things like that
going on. But when they don't fix things, that's what happens."
Blast furnaces No. 4 and No. 8 have been shut down since the accident, the
source said. He said engineering firms have been investigating and making
suggestions for improvements and that some repairs have been made.
"On the No. 4 furnace, they did a pretty extensive inspection with three
different engineering firms. I've never seen anything like this before. The more
they looked, the more problems they found. The problems they found, they had to
correct them before the transfer cars could run on that road," he said. "It's a
shame it takes someone almost losing their life for the company to say, 'We're
making these repairs,' especially when they say safety is a core value."
U.S. Steel representatives only had a short comment.
"In terms of the investigation, they are ongoing and we are cooperating fully
with all involved agencies," U.S. Steel spokeswoman Erin DiPietro said.
The union representative said OSHA has been bringing in managers one at a
time for interviews and requesting documents.
OSHA's Lotter did not have more details available, but said OSHA will issue a
report at the end of its investigation.
"We have the ability to levy fines and work with any employer to bring any
kind of violation up to code," he said.
Because each investigation is unique, he could not say how long the OSHA
inspector expects to investigate.
Vale workers
in Ontario vote to approve new contract at former Inco operations
TheSpec.com
- Business - Vale workers in Ontario vote to approve new contract at former
Inco operations
The Canadian
Press
SUDBURY, Ont. - Workers at international mining giant Vale in Ontario have
approved a new labour agreement, ending a year-long strike.
"Our members have spoken and I believe everyone respects the decisions they
have made in extremely difficult circumstances," said Wayne Fraser, the United
Steelworkers' district director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
"For the last 12 months our members have stood together in the face of
incredible adversity," Fraser said. "They demonstrated tremendous character and
they can hold their heads high as they return to work."
Workers at Steelworkers Local 6500 in Sudbury voted 75 per cent in favour of
the proposal, while Steelworkers Local 6200 in Port Colborne voted 74 per cent
in favour of the deal.
"We are very pleased that our production and maintenance employees have
ratified these new collective agreements and we look forward to their return to
work and a resumption of normal operations," said John Pollesel, general manager
of Vale's Ontario operations.
"It's been a long, hard year for everyone involved, and it's now time to come
together and focus on building the strong and sustainable operations that
Sudbury and Port Colborne require."
The strike at the former Inco Ltd. began on July 13, 2009, and was markedly
bitter at times, with the union accusing the Vale of bad faith bargaining and
the company taking the union to court over a variety of alleged incidents on the
picket lines.
Vale said it needed to cut labour costs to keep its operations competitive,
but workers argued the Brazilian company makes billions of dollars a year and
doesn't need concessions from workers.
The company raised the ire of workers when it used non-striking office,
clerical and technical employees as well as replacement workers to restart some
operations during the strike. Despite this, the output from Vale's Canadian
operations — which account for more than 10 per cent of the world's nickel mine
supply — has been significantly lower than normal for the past year.
The agreement will see more than 3,000 workers get a raise and a big signing
bonus.
However, it will also see new employees put on a defined-contribution pension
plan, as opposed to the existing defined-benefit plan. Defined-contribution
plans depend on market returns and don't guarantee a steady income the way
defined-benefit plans do.
To offset this, existing workers under the current defined-benefit plan will
get a boost in their post-retirement income, and the existing long-term
disability plan will also be improved.
Workers will get incremental raises totalling an estimated $2.46 an hour by
2014, and will receive a back-to-work bonus of $2,000, plus another $2,000 if
production reaches 95 per cent of its maximum for 42 days within six months of
ratification.
The new contract will also raise the price at which the nickel bonus kicks in
to US$3.75 a pound from the current level of $2.25 a pound, and it will cap the
nickel bonus at 25 per cent of workers' wages. The concession means workers
making $29.40 an hour could earn a maximum annual bonus of $15,288.
Vale says it intends to eliminate 113 of the more than 3,000 people who
worked for the company's Sudbury operations before the strike, but it is hopeful
that number will be covered by retirements and workers who quit over the past
year.
All employees will be back at work within six weeks, and both sides will drop
lawsuits launched during the strike.
Brazil-based Vale acquired Inco Ltd. for $19 billion in 2006 and recently
dropped the "Inco" from its name.
This was the longest strike at the Sudbury operations in their century-long
history, exceeding a lengthy 1978-79 dispute by about three months. It has
raised questions of the responsibilities foreign companies take on when they
acquire Canadian assets.
About 200 striking employees at a mine in Voisey's Bay, N.L., have not yet
reached an agreement.
Vale's Canadian operations include six nickel mines, a mill, a smelter and a
refinery in Sudbury; a refinery in Port Colborne; a nickel-cobalt-copper mine in
Voisey's Bay; and three nickel mines, a mill, a smelter and a refinery in
Thompson, Man.
Vale has more than 100,000 employees around the world and is a global leader
in the production of iron ore pellets, aluminum, coal, nickel, copper, steel and
other resources.
Steel
pensions hard-fought
TheSpec.com
- Local - Steel pensions hard-fought
Talk of drastic
change stalls contract
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jul 9,
2010)
Hamilton steelworkers have moved to the front line of a battle to protect
their dream of a decent retirement.
For almost two months negotiators for U.S. Steel and Local 1005 of the United
Steelworkers have been wrestling over terms of a new collective agreement to
replace a contract that expires midnight July 31.
At the heart of the talks - mirroring a confrontation already fought out
during an eight-month lockout at the company's Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke - is
U.S. Steel's demand for drastic changes in its pension plans.
The chief issue is the company's urgent demand to change the existing defined
benefit pension plan to a defined contribution system. The first pays a set
pension based on years of service, while the second pays according to how much
has been contributed over the years.
Employers dislike defined benefit plans because ensuring they have enough
money to meet all current and future obligations can place heavy demands on a
company's cash flow. Workers dislike the defined contribution model because it
leaves their retirement income to the mercy of the investment markets.
"We've struggled with a number of employers over this question," said Erin
Weir, economist for the union. "Employers seem to think that if other workplaces
don't have these kinds of plans, then they shouldn't, either."
An bulletin sent to union members recently by Local 1005 casts the debate in
more emotional terms - a cynical ploy by the company to force workers into a
corner where they think the only way to save jobs is to sacrifice pensioners.
"These companies are testing the workers in every workplace," the anonymous
author writes. "Are the workers prepared to sacrifice the pensioners who have
worked 30 to 40 years and agree to take away or reduce their pensions, their
indexing, their health benefits?"
Local 1005 president Rolf Gerstenberger did not respond to numerous calls
seeking comment.
U.S. Steel spokesperson Trevor Harris would say only "As a general rule, we
don't comment on ongoing negotiations."
What the union calls an issue of fairness is a strict bottom line question
for the company - keeping a defined benefit pension plan fully funded is simply
too costly.
U.S. Steel made that simple point in a 2009 annual report filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.
"Our retiree health care and retiree life insurance plan costs, most of which
are unfunded obligations, and our pension plan costs in North America are higher
than those of many of our competitors. These plans create a competitive
disadvantage and negatively affect our results of operations and cash flows,"
the company said.
In the same filing, the company said it has 129,000 employees, retirees and
dependents participating in its pension plans. As of Dec. 31, the company's
retiree medical and life insurance plans were underfunded $2.9 billion and its
pension plans were $1.7 billion short.
In Ontario, when a defined benefit pension plan is underfunded, the company
is required to make up the difference through special payments over five years.
When the former Stelco filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004, one of the major
reasons was a claim that those payments would cripple it.
At that point, Stelco's pension plans were short $1.4 billion. The immediate
problem was solved when the province agreed to let the company spread payments
over a longer period and injected $150 million of public money.
Since Stelco was purchased by U.S. Steel in 2007, the situation hasn't
improved. The stock market crash in 2008 slashed about $300 million from the
value of the pension fund that supports 9,000 Hamilton retirees. Based on that
valuation, the plan has less than 58 per cent of what it would need to cover the
pensions workers were promised. An updated valuation is to be completed this
year.
A potential solution many workers have been forced to accept is a two-tiered
pension plan -- defined benefit for current workers and defined contribution for
new hires.
That's the choice U.S. Steel workers at the Lake Erie plant finally made in
April, eight months after being locked out. Under the deal that opened the gates
again, the current DB plan was turned over to the union to be administered,
while workers under the new DC plan will have $2.50 per hour worked contributed
by U.S. Steel.
"A deal like that is better than losing the defined benefit plan altogether,
but it still means the plan fades away as the existing generation of workers
retires," Weir said.
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
U.S. Steel worker airlifted after accident
July 7, 2010
By GITTE LAASBY (219) 648-2183 glaasby@post-trib.com
GARY — A U.S. Steel Gary Works employee was airlifted to the hospital early
Wednesday morning after suffering multiple fractures in an accident.
The employee, whose name was being withheld, was injured around 12:30 a.m.
when a transfer car he was operating on the high line near the blast furnaces
left the tracks, U.S. Steel confirmed. The cars transport raw materials, such as
coke and lime, to the blast furnaces.
"We had a catastrophic failure of a girder under the car. That car tipped
over and fell 25 feet into the ore yard," a union representative told the
Post-Tribune. "Imagine if you're driving, one side of the road disappears from
the road, it's going to slip over. These cars are tall and they're heavy...
These cars have a single operator. It's like riding in a tin bucket. If it flips
over and lands inverted, do the math. It's called a crush."
The employee was airlifted to Loyola Hospital, he said.
"They said he was stable when he left. It sounds like he has multiple
fractures, and either a dislocated or a fractured hip," the union rep said.
He attributed the accident to aging infrastructure and a possible lack of
manpower or time to get repairs done.
"The actual support girder underneath the tracks, the witnesses said it looks
like it's smiling at you, which means it's a catastrophic failure," he said.
"They had contractors slated to come in here and start repair work because they
knew it was bad. The work got canceled."
An employee has filed a complaint with the Indiana Occupational Safety and
Health Administration. He said he hopes U.S. Steel will do a full investigation
of the high line to figure out what repairs may be necessary and ensure safety.
Company spokespeople said the accident is being investigated.
"Safety is our company's key core value and a full investigation into the
incident is under way," U.S. Steel said in a statement. "We are currently
assessing the extent of repairs and impact on operations."
US Steel Gary Works plant poses a potential health risk to
workers - Report-
The SteelGuru
Post Tribune reported that US Steel Gary Works plans to build its new coke
substitute facility on top of a 23 acre solid waste management unit. But the
unit contains manganese in concentrations that pose a potential health risk to
workers.
That means the company will have to take precautions to protect construction
workers during building. The company realized the problem after sampling soil
and groundwater in the area in January and February.
Mr Mark Rupnow corrective action environmental remediation manager at US Steel
said that "After looking at the data, what we basically saw was, we had an
exceedance for metals, or I should say manganese, that was of concern to us.
It exceeds Indiana Department of Environmental Management standards for
construction workers. We will have to deal with health and safety standards
for construction workers. It comes down to a dust issue."
US Steel has asked the US Environmental Protection Agency to write a health
and safety standard until the waste can be covered with 18 inches of slag.
Mr Rupnow said that the majority of the area would be capped with six to eight
inches of concrete on top of that. In the mean time, health risks can be
mitigated by suppressing dust.
Next to the coke substitute facility, the company plans to have a storm water
retention area in a place that already contains two dewatering ponds for blast
furnace material. But the ponds contain too much manganese, so US Steel will
have to first remove 2,500 cubic yards of waste and replace it with liner and
fill to make sure storm water doesn't reach the groundwater underneath.
US Steel plans to apply for permission to put the manganese filled waste in
its hazardous waste landfill. The company has already taken out materials that
could be recycled in the sinter plant.
At the same meeting, US Steel officials revealed it has applied for permission
from IDEM and the EPA to expand the project of spraying treated wastewater
from the bottom of its hazardous waste landfill on top of the landfill.
Mr Rick Menozzi director of environmental remediation with US Steel said that
"We looked at this to be an eight-month process. We would not operate in
November, December, January and February."
US Steel started its pilot spray project last fall after realizing ammonia
levels in wastewater at the bottom of the landfill were so high the plant
would violate its wastewater permit if it discharged the polluted water to the
Grand Calumet River. It resumed the project on April 1st 2010 and finished
June 30th 2010, spraying 120,000 gallons per day three days a week.
Mr Doug Boyea manager of corrective action with US Steel said that most of the
spray evaporates from the landfill, also known as the corrective action
management unit.
He said that's better than treating the water and discharging it to the Grand
Cal because treatment would leave chlorides in the water that are toxic to
minnows and other mud critters in the river. He added that "It's slower than
the river, but ecologically, I believe it's better. In the long run, it's not
saving us much."
Posted on Fri, Jul. 02, 2010
Blast at U.S. Steel in Granite City under investigation
Blast at
U.S. Steel in Granite City under investigation
BY ELIZABETH DONALD
News-Democrat
Officials are trying to determine the cause of a
Thursday morning explosion at the Granite City steel mill.
U.S. Steel Granite City Works officials confirmed that a slag pit erupted
about 8:35 a.m., causing two fires. The fires were extinguished by U.S.
Steel's fire department and the Granite City Fire Department.
Employees in the area were evacuated without incident and no one was
injured, according to a statement from U.S. Steel.
The area will be inspected to ensure there were no further hot spots, said
company spokeswoman Erin DiPietro.
"Safety is our top priority and an investigation into the cause of this
accident is under way," DiPietro said. She did not know whether the
investigation would be in-house or would involve the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration.
By early afternoon, all appeared normal outside the plant, though quiet
sirens could still be heard near the entrance at 16th and Madison avenues. The
explosion will not have an impact on production at the plant, DiPietro said.
Granite City Fire Chief Tim Connolly estimated it took about an hour to
get the fire under control, with another hour or two to secure the scene.
Connolly said their efforts were simply to supplement U.S. Steel's
efforts. "There was some molten steel that fell on top of a roof and caught
the roof on fire," Connolly said. "It's a 60-foot-tall building and they don't
have an aerial device that tall."
Connolly said the investigation would be handled by U.S. Steel's internal
departments, though the Granite City Fire Department would assist if asked.
"We would be involved if OSHA gets involved," he said.
U.S. Steel fire officials declined comment.
Last year was a difficult one for U.S. Steel, the parent company that
bought Granite City Steel in 2003. It lost money for four consecutive quarters
in 2009, posting a loss of $1.4 billion, $267 million in the fourth quarter
alone. It had to close one of the two furnaces at the Granite City mill for
repairs and laid off hundreds of workers, not long after bringing them back to
work from a six-month furlough. The first quarter of 2010 was a little better,
with a net loss of only $157 million.
Granite City's steel works employs more than 2,200 workers.
Contact reporter Elizabeth Donald at
edonald@bnd.com or 239-2501.
U.S. Steel's spiralling legal battle
By JEFF GRAY - June 30, 2010
jgray@globeandmail.com
United States Steel Corp., accused of breaking its promises to
maintain jobs when it bought Hamilton-based Stelco Inc. in 2007, is ratcheting
up its legal fight with Ottawa, filing an appeal after a judge tossed out the
company's challenge of the Investment Canada Act.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is challenging a June 14 Federal Court ruling
that upheld the powers of the federal government to go after foreign companies
accused of failing to live up to promises made in order to win government
approval for a takeover of a Canadian firm.
The case is being watched closely. Since the legislation's birth in 1984,
Ottawa has never before taken a company to court under these provisions of the
Investment Canada Act, which allow it to extract promises to ensure a major
investment produces a "net benefit" for Canada.
A U.S. Steel spokeswoman said the company would not be commenting on the
appeal, and its lawyers did not return calls or e-mails. In a brief e-mailed
statement, Industry Canada said it was "disappointed" with the decision to
appeal.
When stumbling Stelco, the last of Canada's major steel makers, was finally
sold to U.S. Steel in 2007, some fretted about the "hollowing out" of Canadian
industry. But workers at Stelco's Hamilton plant seemed relieved, hopeful that
their jobs were more secure and their pensions were funded.
At least they felt that way until U.S. Steel laid off or retired 2,400
workers and scaled back production at its two former Stelco plants in Ontario.
(The company also locked out workers at one of its plants for several months.)
Battered by the global economic crisis, U.S. Steel appeared to ignore a
deal it had made with the federal government, as a condition of approval for
the Stelco takeover, to maintain employment and boost production at the
plants.
According to Ottawa, a deal is a deal. Last summer, federal Industry
Minister Tony Clement made the unprecedented step of taking the steel giant to
court under the provisions of the Investment Canada Act, accusing it of
breaking its promises.
That case has yet to be heard in court. In a ruling earlier this month, a
Federal Court judge tossed out U.S. Steel's argument that some of the
Investment Canada Act's provisions were unconstitutional.
The company's lawyers argued that the fines it faced - what it called a
"King Kong" charge of up to $10,000 a day, or $14-million and rising -
amounted to a criminal penalty, meaning the firm should be entitled to the
protections for accused criminals under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
U.S. Steel is also planning to ask for a stay of proceedings in the main
case while its appeal of the defeat of its constitutional objections is heard,
according to a letter the company sent to the United Steelworkers, which
represents workers at the steel plants and is an intervenor in the case.
Because of the various preliminary legal skirmishes, the firm has yet to
even present a detailed defence in the central case against it, almost a year
after the court battle began.
The spiralling legal fight, and the initial Federal Court ruling upholding
the Investment Canada Act, should prompt foreign companies shopping for
acquisitions in Canada to take what are know as "undertakings" - their
promises to Ottawa - more seriously, lawyers say.
"For the longest time, it was always an afterthought," said Brian Facey of
Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto, who has helped major foreign investors
navigate the Investment Canada Act. "It was a condition put in the various
merger agreements that, you know, you would have to get the various approvals.
But people didn't focus that much on Investment Canada. ... You knew you'd get
through it."
And it is not just the U.S. Steel decision that is getting attention. In
2008, the government refused to approve U.S.-based Alliant Techsystems Inc.'s
plans to buy satellite firm MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.,
apparently on national security grounds, although it did not state its
reasons.
Since then, Ottawa has amended the Investment Canada Act to include new
rules that explicitly allow it to reject transactions to protect national
security, and new guidelines for controversial purchases by "state-owned
enterprises," such as China's massive government-controlled energy companies
shopping for oil sands assets.
Mr. Facey said foreign buyers, and Canadian vendors, are now seeking
special covenants in merger agreements that spell out what effect the likely
undertakings would have on their deal. This means that the commitments
expected from Ottawa are now affecting the bottom-line pricing in deals, he
said.
He said foreign buyers need to think carefully before committing to certain
levels of employment and the like, in case, as happened in the last two years,
the economy goes dramatically sour: "The main point for foreign investors is
you bear the risk of any unforeseen developments, because the government can
really hold you to it."
Rob Champagne, a lawyer for United Steelworkers Canada on the case, said
the union's intervenor status - still being challenged by U.S. Steel - is
restricted to the question of what punishment the company should face if it is
found to have broken its promises.
The union has asked for millions in damages in the form of lost pay and
benefits for laid-off workers. And both the union and another intervenor,
junior Canadian steel maker Lakeside Steel, have called for U.S. Steel to be
forced to sell its Canadian assets, which Lakeside says it would be happy to
take over.
Lawyer Chris Hersh of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto said no one
expects the U.S. Steel case to become the new normal, with a federal
government seeking to put up barriers to foreign investment.
While he didn't think the case would dampen investors' interest in Canada,
he said foreign investors will be more likely to think twice about the effects
of undertakings on their ability to close plants or move production from one
plant to another. In many cases, he said, federal officials have been open to
renegotiating pledges if circumstances change.
But if those talks break down, or the sides can't agree - as is the case
with U.S. Steel - the signal is clear, he said: "The undertakings have teeth.
The government is serious."
With a report
from Greg Keenan
U.S. Steel to
appeal court ruling
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel to appeal court ruling
Company
claiming Investment Canada Act unconstitutional
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jun 30,
2010)
U.S. Steel is appealing a court decision that could clear the way to a forced
sale of the former Stelco.
The company has filed documents appealing the June 14 Federal Court decision
that swept aside complaints calling the Investment Canada Act unconstitutional.
"We have filed a notice of appeal but we will not be making any further
comment as we don't comment on pending litigation," said U.S. Steel spokesperson
Erin DiPietro.
Trouble between the American steelmaker and the government of Canada started
in March 2009 when the company shut down virtually all its Canadian production
plants, citing the complete collapse of demand for steel because of the economic
downturn. Production was moved from Hamilton and Nanticoke to U.S. Steel plants
in the United States.
Industry Minister Tony Clement said that action broke promises the company
made in 2007 when it got government approval to buy Stelco.
After months of stern letters back and forth the government sued under the
Investment Canada Act, seeking fines of $10,000 for every day the company was in
breach of its promises. Company lawyers have estimated those fines could total
more than $14.6 million today.
The move marked the first time the government has acted against a foreign
company for not living up to promises it made in exchange for being allowed to
buy a Canadian asset. U.S. Steel promised to produce 4.35 million tons of steel
each year and employ an average of 3,100 workers.
In a statement released through a spokesperson, Clement said he was
disappointed by the company's appeal.
"We are disappointed U.S. Steel has appealed the decision on the validity of
enforcement powers under the Investment Canada Act," he said. "The court has
confirmed our ability to institute proceedings to enforce undertakings under the
Act."
U.S. Steel argued the Investment Canada Act is unconstitutional because it
exposes executives to the threat of jail time without the protections of the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Justice Dolores Hansen of the Federal Court of
Canada rejected that argument, noting jail was only a threat if executives and
the company were found in contempt of court for not paying fines, and that
penalty would be imposed under another law, not the one the company challenged.
Shortly after the suit was filed by the government, the United Steelworkers
union and Welland-based Lakeside Steel were granted intervener status. The union
wants $44 million in back pay for workers who were laid off; Lakeside wants an
order forcing the sale of Stelco.
Ken Neumann, Canadian director of the union, said the initial court ruling
was the right decision and hoped an appeal would not long delay the hearing on
the basic issue.
"They lost the initial motion, the courts have ruled that the company is
accountable and the government has the right to hold it accountable," he said.
"I hope we can move on to the next step quickly because we still haven't gotten
to the substance of this issue."
U.S. Steel has operations in Canada, the United States and Europe and employs
more than 43,000 people.
The company's shares dropped $2.44 or almost 8.9 per cent on the New York
Stock Exchange yesterday, closing at $39.11.
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
U.S. Steel,
Ottawa legal battle could drag on for years: experts
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel, Ottawa legal battle could drag on for years: experts
Sunny Freeman,
The Canadian Press
TORONTO - United States Steel Corp. (NYSE:X) will challenge a Federal Court
decision to uphold the Investment Canada Act, the latest in an already year-long
feud with Ottawa.
The Pittsburgh-based steel giant said Tuesday it has filed a notice of appeal
of the ruling that allows the federal government to proceed with a lawsuit
against the company.
Legal experts say the battle could draw out for years, as U.S. Steel can
still appeal to the Supreme Court if it loses its appeal at the Federal Court of
Appeal, a proceeding that alone could drag into next year.
Ottawa has argued the company's shutdown of steel mills in Hamilton and
Nanticoke, Ont., during the 2008-2009 recession broke employment and production
promises made when the U.S. steel producer bought the former Stelco Inc. in
2007.
If the steelmaker is found to have illegally broken promises it made to
Ottawa when it bought Stelco for more than $1 billion, it could face a
multimillion-dollar fine or be forced to sell its Canadian assets.
Lynn Meahan, spokeswoman for Industry Minister Tony Clement, said the
ministry was disappointed that U.S. Steel has appealed the decision.
"The court has already confirmed the minister's ability to initiate
proceedings to enforce the undertakings given under the Investment Canada Act,"
she said.
Ottawa argued U.S. Steel broke commitments made when the Stelco takeover was
approved under the Investment Canada Act when it slashed its workforce to 23 per
cent of the 3,100 people it had promised to employ.
The steelmaker has not denied that it broke its promises, but says it was
justified because the global recession decimated demand for the metal used in
everything from construction to cars and trucks and appliances.
However, Clement said that wasn't a good enough reason and took the company
to court in July 2009.
The company would not comment Tuesday because the case is still before the
courts.
But U.S. Steel has said the actions by Ottawa, including the prospect of a
$10,000 a day fine against the company, violated the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms, arguing it doesn't give foreign companies the rights required under
Canadian law.
The fine could amount to $14.6 million in U.S. Steel's case, the company's
lawyers have said.
The steelmaker has argued that the Investment Canada Act imposes penal
consequences — a fine of $10,000 a day for as long as the company is in
contravention of its promises, or the divestiture of its Canadian assets —
without giving it the rights guaranteed under a criminal proceeding.
The argument was rejected by Justice Dolores Hansen earlier this month.
However, even if U.S. Steel loses at the federal court level, the company's
arguments have a real shot at reaching the Supreme Court, says Mark Katz, a
partner with the competition and foreign investment review practice at Davies
Ward Phillips & Vineberg in Toronto.
Katz said U.S. Steel's case meets two important conditions to be granted
leave to for the Supreme Court —it deals with an issue of national importance,
and hasn't been decided on before.
This is the first time the Investment Canada Act had been tested in court
since it was implemented by the Conservatives in the mid-1980s.
Katz said deep-pocketed U.S. Steel basically has nothing to lose in issuing
the appeal.
"It's no cost to initiate the appeal, and so its just a matter of preserving
your rights, so to my mind .... it would seem logical to launch the appeal and
then you see what happens, at least this way you haven't lost the right to
appeal."
Richard Powers, a corporate law expert and associate dean at the University
of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, says it's unlikely the company will
win the appeal, a process that will take at least six to eight months.
A Supreme Court hearing could take another two or three years, he added.
Powers said the company is drawing out the proceedings to bide time as the
economy improves, putting it in a better position to prove its argument that
laying off workers was necessary during the economic downturn.
Ken Neumann, national director of the United Steelworkers Union, says it's
disturbing that the company continues to delay the government's enforcement
proceedings, the merits of which have already held up in court.
"The members and the unions should be made whole for the violation of their
rights that the government under the Constitution had negotiated and U.S. Steel
failed to live up to."
He says its likely his union will again apply for intervener status in the
case.
U.S. Steel is an icon in the North American steel business and traces its
roots to Andrew Carnegie and the robber baron age of the early 1900s. The
company is a major integrated steelmaker with operations in Canada, the United
States and Europe and employs more than 43,000 people.
In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. Steel shares fell $2.44 to
US$39.11, a drop of 5.9 per cent.
US Steel sees industry comeback, costs crimp growth
* The worst is over in steel industry
* High material costs give integrated producers an advantage
* US steel use tends to return to average of 120 mln tons/yr
By Carole Vaporean
NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - United States Steel Corp (X.N),
one of the largest U.S. steel producers, thinks the worst of the steel
industry's downturn is over, but sees the high cost of raw materials used to
produce the metal as having an inhibiting impact on profitability.
"The overwhelming dynamic affecting the pace and level of our industry's
return to profitability today is the state of the raw materials markets,"
Chief Executive Officer John Surma told American Metal Market's 25th Steel
Success Strategies conference on Tuesday.
"Roughly, 70 cents of every steelmaking dollar today goes into the purchase
of raw materials and energy," he added, noting that iron ore and metallurgical
coal costs, the raw materials used to make steel, continue to rise.
As a result, he said, the advantage in the current market goes to steel
producers integrated with iron ore or metallurgical coal mines, pointing to
North American steel producers as having more balanced resources than either
Asian or European steel producers.
In North America, Surma said, U.S. Steel owns a large portion of its raw
materials supply. Whereas, in Europe, it contracts for both iron ore and coal.
"And while we are not directly subject to the seaborne market price changes
that encumber many Asian and Western European steelmakers, we are definitely
feeling the effects."
He later told Reuters that U.S. Steel does not buy much iron ore for its
North American operations.
"In Europe, we're arriving at arrangements that you're reading about for
seaborne trade. Not exactly the same, but similar. Our iron ore supply is
going to be shorter term."
"On the customer contract side, we're mostly a spot player. So, we don't
have as much of an issue with that," he said.
This year, the world's top three iron ore miners, with control of
two-thirds of the seaborne iron ore trade, abandoned a decades-old annual
benchmark setting system, and forced steelmakers to settle for quarterly
prices. [ID:nN01132267]
The shorter-term contracts tend to increase price volatility. Asked whether
Surma planned to hedge that risk with futures or other similar contracts, he
said, "Not yet. That's something that's talked about a lot, but doesn't really
happen that much. We'll have to look at that when the time is right."
Otherwise, the Pittsburgh-based company will continue to invest in existing
facilities and explore expansions, acquisitions and joint venture
opportunities, the CEO said.
U.S. Steel thinks the industry comeback is just beginning to develop, in
line with early stages of recovery in the United States and global economies.
"Looking ahead, the cloud cover is definitely lifting. Perhaps the worst is
behind us," Surma said.
Taking a longer-term view of U.S. steel consumption, he said, over the past
15 years, it tends to return to an average of 120 million tons per annum.
"Domestic steel consumption has always returned to this trend line over
time. There is good reason to believe that it will get there again," he said.
Asked about demand for U.S. Steel's metal, he said, "Some markets are doing
pretty well. Half of the markets we have a decent position in. So, we're
operating at a reasonably good level."
With concerns about overcapacity in the North American steel market, Surma
was asked by Reuters whether U.S. Steel was considering shutting down any of
its operations there.
"We consider the right configuration all the time, but we haven't made a
decision that we can talk about publicly," citing the blackout period before
the steelmaker announces its earnings results for the second quarter.
"We take what the order books give us and try to configure our operating
facilities to meet that with what's cost effective. Logistics, cost
structures, all things come into it. At some point during the cycle there are
some facilities that don't have enough book to keep them open. To make those
decisions we really have to take a long view," the CEO said. (Reporting by
Carole Vaporean; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
US Steel Ordered to Pay Fines For Idling Canadian Stelco Facilities
More than a year ago, MetalMiner published several articles on the shutdown
of Canadian steel mills acquired by US based US Steel. The move to shut down
Canadian facilities (at the expense of less efficient US facilities
according to some) met with controversy north of the border for a number of
reasons. The primary reason centered on provisions of the Canadian
Investment Act which, “gives the government the power to oversee foreign
investment in the country,” according to a recent Reuters article.
Specifically the Canadian government can assess whether or not a particular
foreign firm’s ownership of a Canadian firm will be a “net benefit” to
Canada. In this case, the Canadian government named job protection as one of
the tenets of the agreement for US Steel to takeover the Stelco operations.
When US Steel idled the Hamilton operation, locked out workers from its Lake
Erie plant and in total laid off 2100 Canadian workers, while consolidating
US operations, the Canadian government and United Steelworkers went into
high gear.
US Steel faces a $13.5 – $14.6m fine (depending on your source
of information). Looking through the lens of US Steel, “The company
has lived up to 29 of 31 commitments it made before the acquisition,
including paying off C$700 million of Stelco’s debt, funding the company’s
pension plan and spending C$15 million on research, said Michael Barrack,
U.S. Steel’s lawyer,” according to a Business Week article. And in all
fairness, the firm did lay off workers in the US as a response to
deteriorating marketing conditions as well throughout much of 2009. But
other issues remain.
MetalMiner published a follow-up post just after the Stelco closures in
which another Canadian producer, Lakeside Metals, a producer of steel and
pipe products for the oil and gas industries sought what is called an
intervenor status “alleging that US Steel failed to uphold both job and
production commitments as part of it’s acquisition of the two plants,” as we
reported earlier. Lakeside has via court documents argued to purchase the
Stelco plants as part of a court-ordered sale from US Steel based on its
commitment to adhere to collective agreements, defined pension plans and
fulfill production and employment undertakings at both plants.
In an interview, Lakeside president Ron Bedard said
he was “pleased with the decision but deferred all future comments until the
document has been thoroughly reviewed.”
Lisa Reisman
U.S. Steel
decision lauded
TheSpec.com - Business - U.S. Steel decision lauded
Defeat of
Investment Canada Act challenge called 'very important'
Steve Arnold
The
Hamilton Spectator
(Jun 16,
2010)
A court decision upholding the law regulating foreign investment in Canada
is being hailed as a major victory for the country.
The accolades follow a Federal Court decision Monday that swept aside a
challenge by U.S. Steel to the constitutionality of the Investment Canada Act.
The company was seeking to avoid having to answer a federal government suit
alleging it broke promises to maintain production and employment in Canada
when it was permitted to buy the former Stelco in 2007.
"This is a very important decision," said James Gillies, emeritus dean of
York University. "Companies are being told permission to invest in Canada is
given under the law and that law has to be obeyed."
The government suit, launched almost a year ago, marks the first time
Canada has acted to enforce such promises.
"Canada has been very lax in the enforcement of its investment act,"
Gillies said. "The government hasn't paid attention to this field and because
of that we've lost our industrial base."
Most recently, groups such as the United Steelworkers union, have pointed
to cases such as Brazil-based Vale's purchase of Inco Ltd. and Swiss-Anglo
miner Xstrata PLC buying the former Falconbridge Ltd. Both, the union says,
are cases that "resulted in job loss and economic devastation for Canadian
communities."
Walid Hejazi, of the University of Toronto, has written extensively about
foreign investment and argues it can have major benefits for a country but,
under Monday's decision, those benefits will have to be proven.
"Until now, the criteria have always been very vague, so it has been hard
to measure whether a company has broken a promise," he said. "In this case,
U.S. Steel made some very specific promises and it is now being told it will
be held to those promises."
U.S. Steel promised to produce 4.35 million tons of steel each year and
employ an average 3,100 workers in Canada. Barely a year after making the
purchase, however, the entire Hamilton operation had been idled and staff at
the Lake Erie Works had been locked out in a labour dispute. In total, 2,100
Canadian workers were put on the street while U.S. Steel transferred
production to plants in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Alabama. The company said at
the time it needed to reduce production because demand for steel had
collapsed.
Canada responded with a suit seeking fines of up to $10,000 per broken
promise per day, dating from Nov. 1, 2008. To date, that could amount to more
than $14 million, leading one expert to speculate the next move could be an
attempt by the company to negotiate an out-of-court settlement.
"They've got a pretty strong signal here that their case is going nowhere,"
Richard Powers, a business law expert and associate dean at the University of
Toronto's Rotman School of Management told the Canadian Press. "I'd guess a
negotiated settlement is probably the road they're going to choose, if I was a
betting person."
Barring such a settlement, or an appeal of Monday's decision, the next step
is a hearing on the basic issue of the case -- were promises broken and, if
so, should the company face punishment for that action?
In addition to a fine, Welland-based Lakeside Steel has asked that U.S.
Steel be ordered to sell its Canadian operations.
Wayne Marston, NDP MP for Hamilton East, said the decision validates the
position of the Steelworkers and others who have argued for strict oversight
of foreign investment.
"Now the government will know that it has the courts behind it in
regulating these takeovers," he said. "This company has been told it has a
contract with the government and it is going to have to live by it."
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
Decision may
spark sale: union
A judge's decision allowing the government to seek financial penalties from
U.S. Steel over the shutdown of its Nanticoke and Hamilton facilities last year
could precipitate a sale of the plants, says a union official.
"People are hopeful a sale will come through," said Paul Mason, chair of the
political action committee for United Steelworkers Local 8782, which represents
1,100 workers at Nanticoke.
"A large company like U.S. Steel, they might cut a deal with the government
-- 'we'll sell to whoever' -- to be off the hook for liability."
Ottawa started proceedings against U.S. Steel after it temporarily idled the
plants in 2009 and sent 1,500 people out of work.
The government alleged the company violated the Canada Investment Act by
reneging on a commitment it made to protect jobs when it bought the bankrupt
Canadian company Stelco in 2007.
The act gives the government the authority to ask the courts to fine U.S.
Steel up to $10,000 a day until the commitments are honoured.
U.S. Steel in turn went to court last year to block the action, saying weak
demand caused the shutdown. It denies breaking any promises.
Federal Court Judge Dolores Hansen rejected U.S. Steel's claim that its
rights were violated by provisions of the Canada Investment Act, which gives the
government the power to oversee foreign investment in the country.
Erin DiPietro, a spokesperson for U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, said the company
"has received the court's opinion and we're reviewing it."
The company will make no further comment at this time, she added.
Both the union and the Canadian company Lakeside Steel of Welland, Ont., have
intervener status in court proceedings.
Lakeside has indicated it would like to buy Nanticoke.
Local 8782 has also filed with the court for damages on behalf of its members
for lost wages, benefits, and vacation for the time they were off work.
Those damages amount to "upwards of $80 million," a sum that could be added
to any fines U.S. Steel will have to pay, said Local 8782 vice-president Mark
Talbot.
As an intervener, the union has the right to give the court input on a
potential "remedy," and the forced sale of a business is allowed under the act,
Talbot noted.
"Will that be enough then to negotiate a sale? Who knows? We can only hope
someone else gets control (of the company)."
Most of the workers at Nanticoke were laid off in the spring of 2009 while a
remaining group still inside was locked out in the summer.
Local 8782's leadership has repeatedly called for the government to tighten
rules on foreign ownership of Canadian industry in light of the yearlong
shutdown of the plants.
Employees have also complained they don't like U.S. Steel's management style,
which they say is too authoritarian.
"They're 100-years-old when it comes to management style," said Talbot. "They
took a productive and co-operative working relationship and turned it upside
down."
-- with files from Reuters
Daniel Pearce
519-426-3528 ext. 132 dpearce@bowesnet.com
June 15, 2010
Court rejects U.S. Steel's Charter challenge
By Greg Keenan
Globe and Mail Update
The Federal Court of Canada has upheld the Investment Canada Act under a
challenge mounted by United States Steel Corp.
X-N, giving the federal government the
right to seek fines of as much as $10,000 a day against the company.
A U.S. Steel challenge to the act under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
was rejected by Madam Justice Dolores Hansen of the court in a ruling issued
Monday.
The ruling, unless it is reversed under appeal, means the federal
government can go ahead with a case against U.S. Steel, which it accuses of
violating promises on employment and production the company made when it
bought Stelco Inc. in 2007.
The decision also upholds legislation the federal government has used since
the Trudeau era to regulate foreign purchases of Canadian businesses to make
sure they benefit Canada.
Although the Trudeau government's Foreign Investment Review Act was watered
down under subsequent governments, the Investment Canada Act has been used to
examine high-profile takeovers of Canadian companies, such as the purchases of
all large Canadian steel makers last decade and the takeover of such signature
Canadian companies as Inco Ltd. and Alcan Ltd.
The government's move against U.S. Steel's actions under the act is not "a
criminal or quasi criminal proceeding and does not involve the imposition of a
true penal consequence," so the Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply,
Judge Hansen ruled.
"A distinction must be drawn between those decisions that implicate the
life, liberty and security of the person involved and those, as in the present
case, having only an economic impact," she wrote in a 37-page decision.
In addition, she rejected U.S. Steel's argument that the Investment Canada
Act is designed to regulate public order and welfare within a public sphere of
activity.
"The investor is being called to account to the government for a failure to
honour commitments made to the government," Judge Hansen said. There was no
comment on the decision from Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel.
"We have just received the court's opinion and we are reviewing it,"
spokeswoman Courtney Boone said in an e-mail message.
When the U.S. giant took over Stelco, it made promises to Ottawa about
employment, production and investment at the Stelco operations in Hamilton and
Nanticoke, Ont. But it closed its Canadian operations during the recession,
when steel demand evaporated.
Last year, the federal government said that by shutting the mills, U.S.
Steel broke the promises it made and the government sought fines under the
Investment Canada Act.
U.S. Steel countered that the global financial crisis and recession
amounted to factors beyond its control that prevented it from living up to the
commitments.
It took the federal government to court, saying portions of the Investment
Canada Act violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The shutdown at the Lake Erie Works was followed by a nine-month lockout of
about 1,000 workers when the company and the United Steelworkers of America
reached an impasse over cuts in benefits and changes in pensions.
The company is now negotiating with the USW local representing workers in
Hamilton, whose contract is scheduled to expire on July 31.
"This ruling is a victory for our members and all Canadians," Ken Neumann,
Canadian director of the United Steelworkers of America, said in a statement
Monday.
In her decision, Judge Hansen said part of U.S. Steel's complaint was that
the Investment Canada Act is not precise and the company was not sure why
Industry Minister Tony Clement thinks the company has broken the promises it
made.
But the process of producing affidavits and evidence and cross-examination
will provide U.S. Steel with enough information, she noted.
"I am satisfied that having regard to the context and the potential
consequences to U.S. Steel, it satisfies the right to a fair hearing in
accordance with the principles of fundamental justice, in particular, its
right to know the case to meet."
Canada can
fine U.S. Steel: Court
TheSpec.com
- Local - Canada can fine U.S. Steel: Court
Rules Ottawa
can seek penalties for broken promises
Steve Arnold
(Jun 15,
2010)
Canada has won a legal victory clearing the way for millions of dollars in
penalties against U.S. Steel for its shutdowns of the former Stelco.
In addition, an intervener in the case has asked for a forced sale of the
Canadian steel icon.
In a decision released yesterday, the Federal Court swept aside a U.S. Steel
motion challenging the law under which the government sued the steelmaker.
Barring an appeal to the Supreme Court, the verdict clears the way for a hearing
on the basic issue: Did U.S. Steel break promises it made in 2007 to maintain
production and employment in Hamilton when it bought Stelco?
The suit, launched by the government almost a year ago, marks the first time
an action has been taken under the Investment Canada Act to enforce such
promises.
"This is a tremendous victory for Canada," said Ken Neumann, Canadian
director of the United Steelworkers union. "It says the government has the tools
to ensure foreign investment carries a net benefit to Canada."
When Stelco emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2006, it was owned by a
group of hedge funds which, in 2007, sold the company for $1.9 billion to
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. That sale required approval by Industry Canada, and
in asking for it, U.S. Steel promised to produce 4.35 million tons of steel each
year and employ an average 3,100 workers.
By March 2009, however, the company had idled the entire Hamilton operation,
and in August it locked out the remaining workers at its Lake Erie plant in
Nanticoke.
In total, the American company put 2,100 Canadians out of work in order to
consolidate production at its plants in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Alabama.
Canada responded first with a demand that U.S. Steel explain itself, followed
by a suit seeking fines of up to $10,000 per broken promise per day, dating from
Nov. 1, 2008.
The fine facing U.S. Steel could amount to $14.6 million, the company's
lawyers have said.
U.S. Steel challenged the suit on the grounds that it breached protections
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by exposing executives to possible
prison time for what was essentially a contractual dispute.
In her decision, Justice Dolores Hansen of the Federal Court rejected that
argument, saying prison was only a threat if the company and its executives were
found in contempt of court for not paying fines, and that penalty would not be
imposed under the act the company was challenging.
In a brief interview, U.S. Steel spokesperson Courtney Boone said the company
is reviewing the decision and refused further comment.
U.S. Steel has said in the past its shutdown of Canadian plants was motivated
solely by a collapse in the demand for steel during the worldwide recession of
2008-09. In addition, the Lake Erie lockout was settled this April, and many
workers have been recalled to the Hamilton plant.
Welland-based Lakeside Steel, an intervener in the hearing, has asked the
government to seek a court-ordered sale of the former Stelco.
It has argued in court documents the fines sought by the government will mean
little to an industrial giant such as U.S. Steel, while an order to comply with
the jobs and production commitments won't resolve "the long-term threat to the
Canadian public interest that is posed by U.S. Steel's self-interested
management" of its Canadian assets.
In an interview, Lakeside president Ron Bedard said he was "pleased with the
decision" but deferred all future comments until the document has been
thoroughly reviewed.
The United Steelworkers union, which has also been named an intervener in the
suit, is seeking nearly $44 million in damages for lost wages and dues following
the shutdowns.
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
June 14, 2010
U.S. Steel loses in Canadian court
By CBC News
CBC News
A ruling by the Federal Court Monday has cleared the way for Ottawa's
lawsuit against United States Steel over its acquisition of Hamilton,
Ont.-based Stelco in 2007.
The court ruled the government has the power to impose penalties against U.
S. Steel and rejected the steel giant's argument that the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms negates some parts of the Investment Canada Act.
The company had promised to preserve jobs and make new investment at the
Stelco operations in Hamilton, Ont., and Nanticoke, Ont., but closed the
plants during the recession.
Ottawa had sought to impose fines on U.S. Steel for breaking its promises,
but the firm argued that the recession was beyond its control and prevented it
from living up to its commitments.
The company had argued in Federal Court that parts of the Investment Canada
Act violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the rights it provides for
corporations.
Steel bosses
seek ironclad pledges
TheSpec.com
- Business - Steel bosses seek ironclad pledges
Three-day
Parliament Hill blitz targets support for their 30,000-job industry
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jun 3,
2010)
Leaders of Canada's steel industry are to wrap up a three-day blitz of
Parliament Hill today.
They've spent those days trying to make cabinet ministers, members of
Parliament and senior bureaucrats understand the importance of an industry that
supports 30,000 jobs.
Among the industry delegation are Ron Watkins, president of the Canadian
Steel Producers Association and ArcelorMittal Dofasco president Juergen
Schachler.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco spokesperson Andrew Sloan said the delegation wanted to
stress the importance of steel to Canada's hoped-for economic recovery.
"Steel is fundamental to the overall economic recovery," he said. "Canada
needs a viable and sustainable steel industry."
Dubbing the effort "Steel Days," the industry leaders used the time to
discuss the economic and environmental performance of Canada's steel mills and
to argue for their vision of how steel will help shape the country's future.
Getting to that future, however, will require some government action, Watkins
said, especially on issues such as industrial, trade, education and
environmental policies.
On the education questions, for example, Sloan said new technologies for
making steel ever lighter demand higher skills from workers -- and while
ArcelorMittal Dofasco spends $5 million a year training apprentices, more is
needed.
The industry also wants changes in tax policies to help offset the burden of
a high exchange rate and environmental policies that don't put Canadian firms at
a disadvantage.
"We want Canada to be a competitive jurisdiction," he said.
"We want to work with government in any way we can in order to be
competitive."
If Ontario's environmental standards are 10 times tougher than those of
neighbouring jurisdictions, he added, "then capital is going to flow there."
Industry figures show the steel and tubular products business in Canada
accounts for 30,000 jobs and annual shipments of about $14 billion including
about $7 billion in exports.
In a news release, the CPSA said its specific policy goals include:
* Identifying positive changes to conditions for Canadian manufacturers to
assist in competing for markets and investments.
* Focusing policies and programs on improving productivity, developing a
highly skilled industrial workforce, and applying new production technologies.
* Promoting international trade as critical to the Canadian steel industry's
success, including firmly enforcing the negotiated rules of international trade
with all major trading countries, notably China.
* Reinforcing the need for world-class infrastructure and competitive
transportation systems to move Canadian goods to domestic and global markets.
sarnold@thespec.com
U.S. Steel
ruling delayed for translation
TheSpec.com
- Business - U.S. Steel ruling delayed for translation
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jun 1,
2010)
The judge hearing a federal government lawsuit against U.S. Steel has made
her decision.
The document, however, will be kept under wraps for up to two more weeks
while it is translated from French.
The suit, alleging the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker broke promises it made
about maintaining jobs and production when it was allowed to buy the former
Stelco, has been hung up since January waiting for Justice Dolores Hansen to
rule on a company challenge to the Investment Canada Act, the legislation under
which the government is suing.
Rob Champagne, one of the lawyers acting for the United Steelworkers union in
the case said parties to the suit were told in a teleconference today that the
decision needs about two weeks for translation before it will be released.
"It could be sooner than that, but I didn't get the sense it would be
longer," he said.
If Hansen rules against the company's challenge, the suit will move on to
consider whether the company violated the act, and if so, what remedy should be
ordered.
The closely watched case marks the first time a foreign investor has been
sued for failing to live up to commitments made under the Investment Canada Act.
Industry Minister Tony Clement has asked the court to order U.S. Steel to meet
employment and production commitments he says were violated when it shut down
the former Stelco earlier this year. If the company fails to comply, he has
asked for a penalty of $10,000 a day.
Steel revival
heating up?
TheSpec.com
- Business - Steel revival heating up?
Report suggests
global demand expected to rebound as world emerges from recession
The Canadian
Press
OTTAWA (Jun
1, 2010)
A new study commissioned by the Canadian Steel Producers Association finds
opportunities for growth in steelmaking are returning as the global economy
emerges from recession.
The report, prepared by University of Toronto senior research fellow Peter
Warrian, found steel prices have fallen by about 15 to 20 per cent from their
peak in 2008. Meanwhile, a decline in capacity utilization since the recession
hit has reduced employment in the industry by 25 per cent.
But the report indicates global steel demand is expected to rebound in 2010,
and grow by 6 to 7 per cent per year in 2011 and 2012.
Warrian said that developing economies are set to require much more steel in
the coming years, sparking increased demand.
Demand in North American markets could also pick up as economies emerge from
the recession and require steel to fulfil investments in new and upgraded
infrastructure, he added.
Warrian said predictions that demand for auto steel will remain flat or even
decline could be offset by a pickup in the use of such steel in other
applications.
"First, there is room for the development of non-auto applications of modern
auto steels into other areas of manufacturing. This could mean an increase of 5
per cent in steel demand," Warrian wrote.
"The second factor, and potentially the big surprise, may be new uses of
steel products in construction. On this basis, the market for flat-rolled steel
could be at a tipping point and result in 20 per cent growth over time," he said
in the report.
But the study also cautioned that Canadian producers could lose out because
of subsidies and alleged dumping by China, which boasts nearly half of the
world's steel production.
"On average, over the last 10 years, China has added twice the size of the
Canadian steel industry every year," Warrian said.
The report calls for reinforcement of anti-dumping and countervailing duties
to combat the effects of China's policies.
"Netting out subsidies and the impact of government market interventions
would prove the real, market-based cost structure of Chinese steel production to
be substantially higher than officially reported," Warrian added.
The report found Canadian steel industry employs about 30,000 and ships about
$14 billion worth of products annually.
Steel
industry report says demand to pick up, warns of China's policies
TheSpec.com
- - Steel industry report says demand to pick up, warns of China's policies
The Canadian
Press
OTTAWA - A new study commissioned by the Canadian Steel Producers Association
says steel demand will pick up as the global economy emerges from recession.
But the study also cautions that Canadian producers could lose out because of
subsidies and alleged dumping by China, the world's largest steel producer.
Among other things, the report calls for reinforcement of anti-dumping and
countervailing duties to combat the effects of China's policies.
The report, prepared by University of Toronto professor Peter Warrian, says
developing economies are set to require much more steel in the coming years,
sparking increased demand.
Construction is among the market sectors expected to become a more important
in the coming decade, with Warrian's report saying that demand for construction
steel could rise by up to 20 per cent.
Chinese
scientists say cigarette butts can help prevent steel from corroding
TheSpec.com
- Science - Chinese scientists say cigarette butts can help prevent steel from
corroding
Gillian Wong,
The Associated Press
BEIJING, China - Chinese scientists say they have found a way for the
countless cigarette butts that are tossed every day on streets, beaches and
other public places to be reused — in protecting steel pipes from rusting.
The remnants of used cigarettes, among the world's most common form of trash,
leak chemicals that have been shown to kill fish and damage the environment. The
problem could be alleviated if new uses are found for the cigarette butts.
"When people walk on the streets, they usually see cigarette butts scattered
everywhere, on the ground or the grass," said Jun Zhao, a Ph.D. student at the
Xi'an Jiaotong University, by telephone. "I felt it was quite significant to do
a project related to environmental protection."
The study is particularly relevant to China, where about 30 per cent of the
world's smokers live, a number roughly equal to the entire U.S. population. The
country is home to both the world's largest tobacco grower and cigarette
producer.
Zhao and other researchers in northwest China said Friday they have found
that cigarette butts soaked in water can help guard against corrosion in a type
of steel commonly used in the oil industry.
The finding was recently published in the American Chemical Society journal
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
Zhao said she started the research after noticing that cigarette butts turn
the colour of water brown when immersed in it, like the colour of antiseptics.
"That inspired me to wonder if the two are related," she said.
The researcher started collecting cigarette butts for the project around 18
months ago, picking them up from ashtrays atop roadside trash cans and
collecting them from friends whom she had asked to save the butts.
"I have bags and bags of cigarette butts for the project. I have no idea how
many of them I have," she said.
Researchers found that extracts of cigarette butt water could substantially
protect N80 type steel from corroding when in hydrochloric acid at 90 degrees
Celsius (194 degrees F). That type of steel is often used to make drill rods,
which costs oil producers millions of dollars annually when they corrode.
A compound material produced from the burning of nicotine and tar is what
protects against corrosion, Zhao said, adding she planned to study its effect on
preventing rusting in other metals.
The findings are "very convincing," said Guy D. Davis, a materials consultant
based in Baltimore, Maryland, with 30 years of experience researching the
treatment of surfaces.
Together with another researcher, Davis has previously studied the use of
tobacco extracts on steel and aluminum. "Tobacco seems to be one of the best
plant-based inhibitors" of corrosion, Davis said.
But using tobacco to guard against metal corrosion has its limitations, Davis
said, including that it acts as a nutrient for mould over time and "develops an
obnoxious odour."
Industry
group sees demand for steel increasing
TheSpec.com - Business - Industry group sees demand for steel increasing
Bloomberg
News
(May 4,
2010)
U.S. steelmakers may raise output by one-third this year as the economy
begins to recover, Nucor Corp. CEO Dan DiMicco said yesterday.
Steelmakers still face increasing competition from rising imports and
require protection from trade practices of nations including China, DiMicco
said on an American Iron and Steel Institute-sponsored conference call.
Charlotte, N.C.- based Nucor was the largest U.S. steelmaker by 2009 sales.
DiMicco Sunday became chair of the institute, which represents 24 member
companies and 138 associate and affiliate members comprising 75 per cent of
steelmaking capacity in North America.
"Things are getting better but we need them to get a lot better," DiMicco
said.
"We are looking at positive signs that the economy is slowly starting to
recover. It will probably take several more years to see demand back to what
it was from 2004 through the third quarter of 2008."
Steel city
rises again as demand strengthens
TheSpec.com
- Local - Steel city rises again as demand strengthens
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Apr 30,
2010)
A year after Steeltown shuddered, with Hilton Works on hiatus and imposed pay
cuts at ArcelorMittal Dofasco, steel is making a comeback.
By the fall, much of the ground lost on the jobs front is expected to be
gained back, with more than 1,000 jobs restored -- and the opportunity for even
more.
The largest part of that growth will result from the sale of two idled U.S.
Steel mills to a German company that promises to have new steel flowing through
them before the end of September.
The rest will be at ArcelorMittal Dofasco, where plans to add a third blast
furnace could create 30 positions this summer.
U.S. Steel has also recalled about 800 Hamilton workers of the 1,500 laid off
last year.
Thomas Fetzer, president of Max Aicher (North America) Inc., said he expects
to hire between 150 and 200 people to staff the Hamilton bar mills his company
is buying from U.S. Steel.
Fetzer said hiring could start next month after the 100 U.S. Steel workers
with recall rights to the plant have been canvassed.
"All of the employees with recall rights can come back," he said. "We'll see
how many have retired or found other jobs and then we will hire from the
outside."
Fetzer plans to have the plants operating by the third quarter.
"We hope to move forward quickly on this," Fetzer said.
"We think we are going to have a real advantage in Hamilton because it is the
steel capital of Canada. People here know steel and we can use that knowledge."
On Wednesday, U.S. Steel Canada announced the sale of its No. 1 bar mill and
No. 3 bloom and billet mill to the Aicher group. The plants have been idle since
January 2009, but Fetzer said they can be brought back to life quickly.
"U.S. Steel has kept them in very good shape," Fetzer said.
"We are going to have hot bars in those mills by the third quarter.
"We have a period in front of us to get permits and other things before the
deal closes, but we hope to get public support for this," he added.
Aicher (North America) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Max Aicher GmbH & Co.
KG of Germany. It operates steel and rolling mills in Germany, Romania, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, employing about 2,500. There are also
plants in New Jersey and California that process steel imported from Europe, but
the Hamilton plants will be the company's first production facilities here.
Fetzer explained using steel imported from Europe has become a problem for
the company because wild swings in exchange rates make it difficult to price.
That's one of the reasons the company finally moved to establish a North
American plant after three years of looking at the Hamilton facilities.
Those plants will be used to process steel purchased from Canadian suppliers.
Aicher's signature products are threaded steel rods used in concrete
construction, mining and auto products such as axles, connecting rods, gears and
stabilizers.
At ArcelorMittal Dofasco, spokesperson Andrew Sloan said the company is
working toward starting its third blast furnace this summer -- a step that's
expected to create 30 jobs.
"We continue to work toward a goal of summer 2010 for that restart," he said.
Where U.S. Steel shuttered almost all of its Canadian operations last year,
ArcelorMittal Dofasco kept its entire workforce on staff --an across-the-board
pay cut of 5 per cent was imposed for five months but no one was laid off. Full
pay was restored in October.
"Last year we had some difficulties but we have recovered," Sloan said.
"We got through it without any reductions in the permanent workforce."
The company also maintained its heavy commitment to training programs --
earlier this week it honoured 101 employees who have completed apprenticeships
in such trades as industrial electrician, industrial mechanical millwright,
welders, mobile crane operators, bearing mechanics, brick and stone masons,
heating and refrigeration.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has another 81 apprentices still in training -- it
costs the company $250,000 to take an apprentice to final certification -- and
projects it will need as many as 50 more annually for the next seven years as
about half its current workforce retires.
"We have the largest apprentice training program in Ontario," Sloan said.
"We've always had an advantage because we do so much of our own training."
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
BY THE NUMBERS
1,500 jobs idled last March.
800 called back at U.S. Steel.
By September, another 230 could be restored/added: that includes up to 200 at
bar mill; and 30 for Dofasco.
ArcelorMittal
profit hit nearly $700 million last quarter
TheSpec.com
- Business - ArcelorMittal profit hit nearly $700 million last quarter
The
Associated Press
PARIS (Apr
30, 2010)
ArcelorMittal SA, the world's largest steelmaker and the owner of Dofasco,
said yesterday it swung to a profit of $679 million US in the first quarter
compared with a loss a year earlier. The company also predicted the recovery
will pick up throughout 2010.
The company said it raised output to meet increasing demand, particularly in
China and developing countries. ArcelorMittal was hit hard by last year's steel
slump.
"The year has started with improved demand in all main markets, which will
have a positive impact in the second quarter," CEO Lakshmi Mittal said in a
statement.
The profit compared with a loss of $1.06 billion US in the first quarter of
2009, but was below the $1.07 billion profit in the fourth quarter of last year
and the $903 million in the third quarter.
The company's first-quarter sales were $18.6 billion, up from $15.1 billion a
year earlier, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
were $1.89 billion.
The Luxembourg-based company forecast earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortization of between $2.8 billion and $3.2 billion in the
second quarter.
Lakeside
makes new deal
TheSpec.com
- Business - Lakeside makes new deal
The Canadian
Press
WELLAND
(Apr 30, 2010)
Lakeside Steel Inc. has signed a deal with an Ohio company that will better
allow it to supply steel pipe and tubing to drilling firms working on the
Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches over parts of four states. Scot
Industries of Ohio will provide thermal treatment services to upgrade Lakeside's
product, produced in Welland, to grades required.
New steel to
roll out of Hamilton by Sept.
TheSpec.com
- BreakingNews - New steel to roll out of Hamilton by Sept.
BY STEVE ARNOLD
New steel
could be flowing through two idled Hamilton mills before the end of September.
The president of the German company buying the U. S. Steel Canada facilities
said he plans to have the plants staffed and operating by the third quarter of
the year once government approvals and permits have been received and workers
hired.
Thomas Fetzer, president of Max Aicher (North America) Inc., said he expects to
hire between 150 and 200 people for the first phase of the Hamilton project,
with more in the future as business demands.
“We hope to move forward quickly on this,” he said. “We think we are going to
have a real advantage in Hamilton because it is the steel capaital of Canada.
People here know steel and we can use that knowledge.”
On Wednesday U. S. Steel Canada announced the sale of its No. 1 bar mill and No.
3 bloom and billet mill to the Aicher group. The plants have been idle since
Janaury 2009, but Fetzer said they have been kept in good shape and can be
brought back to life quickly.
“U. S. Steel has kept them in very good shape,” Fetzer said. “We are going to
have hot bars in those mills by the third quarter.”
sarnold@thespec.com
905-526-3496
German firm
to buy two idled U.S. Steel plants
TheSpec.com
- Local - German firm to buy two idled U.S. Steel plants
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Apr 29,
2010)
A German company is buying two idled Hamilton steel plants in a deal that
could mean 300 new jobs for the city.
The sale of the No. 1 bar mill and No. 3 bloom and billet mill at U. S. Steel
Canada's Burlington Street complex will mark the North American debut of Max
Aicher Group, a German company that already commands more than 20 per cent of
Europe's market for automotive steel.
"This is a very significant announcement. It's a major reinvestment in
Hamilton," said economic development director Neil Everson. "This is job
creation, it's advanced manufacturing and it shows steel still has a future in
Hamilton."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed and government approval is required.
The mills have been inactive since January 2009, when U.S. Steel idled almost
all of its Canadian operations in the face of plunging demand, moving production
of flat-rolled steel to the United States.
The Hamilton bar and bloom mills were the only such facilities in the
company's portfolio and, in announcing the sale, the company said they didn't
fit with its future plans.
This isn't the first time the Aicher group has considered investing in
Hamilton. In 2007, Stelco managers offered the mills for sale as part of an
effort to make the post-bankruptcy protection firm more attractive to investors.
"One Wednesday, Rodney Mott (Stelco CEO in 2007) told me the sale was going
to be approved by the board the next day, but it never happened," said Rolf
Gerstenberger, president of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers.
Aicher made at least two more approaches to Stelco and U.S. Steel, but a deal
was never finalized.
"What they told me back then was they wanted to build a steel mill next to
the Stelco facilities and finish the bars there," Gerstenberger said. "They have
a good market in North America, but it was getting too expensive to ship steel
here."
Gerstenberger said, when the mills were closed last year, they employed about
300 people. On U.S. Steel's current roster of 850 employees, about 100 have
contract rights to jobs in the closed facilities. Aicher's new Canadian
employees will remain members of Local 1005.
"Aicher would need all of them and many more," Gerstenberger said. "They'll
need 300 people right away to start production."
Gerstenberger said the mills are generally in good condition and crews were
in recently to start up production machinery for test runs.
Local leaders praised the sale as welcome news for a city hammered by two
years of steady job losses and plant closings.
"They're going to manufacture some high-value specialty steel products
there," Everson said. "These are going to be living wage jobs and more.
"This is a really, really strong win for Hamilton," he added. "We've had our
losses, but we're starting to get wins, too."
Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he hasn't been given all the details on what the
Aicher group is planning, but welcomed any investment that promises good jobs
for the city.
"There's going to be a significant number of jobs attached to this," he said.
"Three hundred sounds like a reasonable number. It's not going to be a small
number."
In a news release, Eisenberger described the announcement as "the culmination
of months of behind-the-scenes work" led by the economic development department
along with senior staff from the city's public works, legal and planning
department and the Hamilton law firm of Scarfone Hawkins LLP.
The announcement was "yet another great example of the return on investment
that council made in increasing the budget and resources to our economic
development efforts," he added.
Richard Koroscil, chairperson of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, welcomed
the prospect of new jobs.
"This is going to be advanced manufacturing kind of work, it's exactly the
kind of thing we want to see more of in Hamilton," he said.
Max Aicher (North America) Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Max Aicher
GmbH & Co. KG of Germany. Based in Freilassing, Germany, east of Munich, the
company has interests in real estate, construction, steel and waste recycling.
It entered the steel business in Germany in 1975, rehabilitating the bankrupt
Stahlwerk Annahutte mill in the town of Berchtesgaden. It now operates several
stainless steel and rolling mills in Germany, Czech Republic, Romania and
Hungary serving customers in auto production and construction. Aicher employs
about 2,500 people in steel production now.
Blooms are large blocks of steel that are then rolled into billets used to
produce wire rod, bars and seamless pipe. Flat-rolled steel slabs are rolled
into sheets.
sarnold@thespec.com
Hamilton
factory fined $60,000 for safety act violation
TheSpec.com
- Business - Hamilton factory fined $60,000 for safety act violation
The Canadian
Press
(Apr 29,
2010)
A steel bar manufacturer has been fined $60,000 for a violation under the
Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured at its Hamilton
factory.
On Sept. 29, 2008, workers were installing a new part in a large furnace used
to melt scrap metal at Hamilton Specialty Bar. The furnace's roof was open so
the part could be lowered into the furnace with a chain hoist.
While one of the workers was guiding the chain by hand, the chain block,
which protects the hoist's pulleys, hit the open roof. This caused a piece of
slag to fall about 12 metres and strike the worker who was guiding the chain.
Hamilton Specialty Bar pleaded guilty to failing to protect the worker.
Nanticoke
fully back on stream July 1
TheSpec.com
- Business - Nanticoke fully back on stream July 1
Rising steel
market helps U.S. Steel claw back Q1 red-ink figure to only $157m
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Apr 28,
2010)
It will be Canada Day before U.S. Steel's Lake Erie plant is fully back in
operation.
Company executives told industry analysts yesterday the Nanticoke plant will
be restarted in stages running through the end of June as the market for steel
continues to recover from the recession.
The plant, long billed as the most efficient steelmaking operation in North
America, was idled last August when workers were locked out over a contract
dispute. The lockout ended earlier this month when the workers accepted a
no-raise, no-concessions contract.
"We are just putting together our restart plan now," said John Surma,
chairman and CEO of the company. "We need (the plant) so we can get slabs to our
Canadian customers much more efficiently than by running them through Detroit."
During the long months U.S. Steel kept Lake Erie Works closed, it serviced
Canadian customers with steel slabs rolled in its American plants. How long the
plant runs, or at what pace, "depends on the market," Surma added.
Getting the plant into production is a key part of the company's plan to cash
in on a rising steel market -- an increase that allowed U.S. Steel to report a
first-quarter net loss of $157 million, its smallest loss in more than a year.
The red ink for the first quarter was down sharply from $439 million in the
same period of 2009 and $267 million for the fourth quarter.
On its operations, the company reported a loss of $57 million, compared with
a loss of $329 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 and $478 million in the
first quarter of 2009. Most of the credit for the improvement was given to
rising demand from customers and a steady rise in prices.
In the company's flat-rolled segment, which includes the Hamilton operations,
shipments rose from 2.1 million tons in the first quarter of last year to more
than 3.5 million tons in the January-March quarter this year, while average
price per ton rose to $654 this quarter compared with $633 at the end of 2009.
Under those forces, the segment's loss fell from $422 million in the first
quarter of 2009 to $80 million this year.
During the quarter, the company reported using 73 per cent of its flat-rolled
production capacity, up from 64 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"Our results are making a slow but steady improvement," Surma said. "We
continue to experience healthy order rates and prices are steadily moving in the
right direction for us."
Looking ahead, chief financial officer Gretchen Haggerty predicted the
company will be profitable in all three of its segments by the end of the second
quarter.
Part of that optimism, the company added in a news release, is fed by the
fact inventories for its major customers, including automakers, oil pipeline
companies and construction firms, remain very low.
The flies in that hopeful ointment include expected hikes in the price of
important raw materials such as scrap steel and coke and the negotiating of a
new labour agreement at the company's Hamilton works.
U.S. Steel is the world's fifth-largest producer of flat-rolled steel. The
largest is ArcelorMittal, which owns Dofasco in Hamilton.
sarnold@thespec.com
Steelworkers have a deal
- The Simcoe
Reformer
DANIEL PEARCE
Simcoe Reformer
Steelworkers at Nanticoke will start returning to work as early as
Sunday after they voted 88.5% in favour of accepting a new contract with
the company on Thursday.
"We got us a deal, people," Bill Ferguson, president of United
Steelworkers Local 8782, said Thursday night.
"We hope to have everyone back in (the plant) in two weeks."
The agreement will put to an end months of speculation, anger, and
concern that the plant — considered to be one of the most modern
steelmaking facilities in North America — might never re-open.
It was closed last year first by a series of layoffs and then a lockout
by U.S. Steel of remaining employees.
There were no concessions in the deal, Ferguson said.
Employees will get a $3,000 signing bonus, improved profit sharing, and
a "very lucrative" new pension plan, Ferguson said.
Wages and benefits remain the same, he said.
Turnout for the vote, held at the union hall at Nanticoke, was 81%.
Workers can expect to start receiving phone calls from the company
recalling them to work today.
A company representative could not be reached for comment.
Daniel Pearce
519-426-3528 ext. 132
dpearce@bowesnet.com |
U.S. Steel
lockout over - workers accept deal
TheSpec.com
- BreakingNews - U.S. Steel lockout over - workers accept deal
April 16, 2010
Steve Arnold- The Hamilton Spectator
NANTICOKE — The long and bitter U. S. Steel strike is over.
Members of the United Steel Workers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to accept a
no-raise, no-concessions contract with the company eight months after being
locked out.
“This is a good deal and we’re going to make a bit of money on it,” said Bill
Ferguson, president of Local 8782. “For people to be out this long and to hold
together is extremely positive.”
The final vote was 88.5 per cent for the deal with 81.5 per cent of the
members voting.
U. S. Steel locked workers out of the Lake Erie plant in August after
contract talks hit an impasse over what the union called “legendary” demands for
concessions.
In the end, the dispute was settled for a deal that traded no concessions for
no wage hike.
“On that basis I think we did pretty well,” Ferguson said. “We’ve got a good
crew here.”
Among the critical issues in the dispute was a company demand to shift from a
defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution system. Defined benefits
pension plans guarantee retirees a certain amount, usually based on length of
service. A defined contribution plan, like a registered retirement savings plan,
pays a pension based on how much has been contributed.
In the end, the dispute was settled with a deal that means new employees will
not be allowed to join the existing defined benefit pension plan — that’s being
turned over to the union to be administered.
New workers will join a separate defined contribution plan to which the
company will contribute $2.50 per hour worked. The plan will be portable, but
workers shouldn’t withdraw the company portion of the plan unless they leave U.
S. Steel. A retirement fund board will be established to oversee the fund
management and returns.
Workers waiting for the final tally behind the union hall said they were
pleased with the package.
“I think our negotiating committee did an awesome job,” said stationary
engineer Donna Wingrove. “Their mandate was no concessions and that’s what they
delivered.”
Others praised the fact nothing was lost in the talks, but regretted not
getting a wage increase — something they haven’t seen since the former Stelco
went into bankruptcy protection in 2004.
Instead of a raise, each worker who stays with the company for 60 days after
the settlement will get a $3,000 signing bonus, up to $3,500 in profit sharing
if the plant earns more than $45 million in before taxes and other deductions
and a cost of living allowance that could add up to $1.63 an hour to their
paycheques over the deal’s three-year life.
Other highlights of the deal:
— No changes to the basic or supplemental pension plan payments; workers will
get credit toward retirement for the time they were locked out. If there are
future layoffs because of a lack of work, affected employees will get retirement
credit for up to one year while they’re laid off;
— On May 1 retirees and their survivors will get lump sum cash payments equal to
12 times 1.5 per cent of their basic pension; 12 times three per cent on July 1,
2011 and 12 times 4.5 per cent on Aug. 1, 2012;
— Up to 50 workers who are 55 years old with 10 years’ service will be given the
chance at early retirement, with conditions;
— No changes to the group benefits plans for retirees or active workers.
— A $2-million company-sponsored supplementary unemployment fund will be
established to pay workers $200 a week when they’re laid off.
Plans to call the workers back are still being developed, but Ferguson said
it could be up to two weeks to get the idle plant back to full production. U.S.
Steel Canada laid off about 800 workers from Lake Erie Works in March 2009,
citing the recession as reducing demand for steel. It locked out the 200
remaining workers in August after contract negotiations collapsed.
The talks resumed March 29 after the company approached the union’s
international office in Pittsburgh.
sarnold@thespec.com 905-526-3496
Is it a steel
of a deal?
The Simcoe Reformer
April 13, 2010
Local steel workers are pleased with the contract their union negotiated last
week with U.S. Steel Canada.
Many members of Local 8782 of the United Steelworkers were elated Monday
after hearing details of the tentative deal at the Lions Community Centre in
Port Dover.
"I believe it's as close to a perfect document as they are going to get,"
said Bob Smith of Villa Nova, an employee at the Lake Erie plant who works in
the Heckett recycling division. "I predict it will be ratified by a very high
percentage. The union didn't have to give up anything. They went into this
negotiation saying there would be no concessions and there are pretty much no
concessions."
Retiree John "Reb" Felker of Port Dover described the document as "a gift."
"We didn't lose a thing," he said.
More than 1,000 members of Local 8782 will vote on the offer Thursday at the
union hall in Nanticoke. If the contract is approved, U.S. Steel will recall
workers immediately. Plans are to have everyone back to work within two weeks.
If the contract is approved, it will mark the end of one of the most bitter,
long-lasting and economically devastating labour disputes in the history of
Haldimand and Norfolk.
U.S. Steel reacted to the downturn in the global economy last spring by
laying off workers in Nanticoke and Hamilton. That was followed by a lockout in
Nanticoke in August when U.S. Steel's most recent collective agreement with
Local 8782 expired.
More than 1,000 workers in Nanticoke were put on the street. Many endured a
tough winter, with one worker reporting last night that 39 union members lost
their homes because of the dispute.
Workers consider the contract offer a victory because there are no major
concessions. When the parties met last August, U.S. Steel sought $12 an hour in
concessions and significant changes to working conditions, holidays and other
items. This was a non-starter for Local 8782 because the average employee cost
to begin with is $42 an hour.
Ten months later, the concessions are off the table and workers will actually
come out ahead at the end of the three-year deal if they approve it.
U.S. Steel is offering a $3,000 signing bonus and a cost-of-living allowance
over the life
of the contract worth an estimated $1.63 an hour. Profit sharing remains in
place with modifications.
As well, workers can claim the full nine months of the lockout toward their
pensionable years of service. Employees like Bruce Goodale, of Hamilton, walked
into last night's meeting unaware that they can take their pension at any time.
"I can retire right now," he said. "I'm ecstatic."
This perk tells stationary engineer Rick Horner, of Windham Centre, that U.S.
Steel was desperate to make a deal.
"Never before in any of our contracts have we ever got anything like this,"
Horner said. "They might have given us a month or so before. They must have
really wanted us back. That or they knew what the judge was going to say when we
argued our lawsuit."
U.S. Steel appears to have scored a win in the area of pension reform. If
this contract is approved, employees hired after ratification will no longer
qualify for the company's defined benefit plan.
Nanticoke
workers get look at U.S. Steel contract
TheSpec.com
- BreakingNews - Nanticoke workers get look at U.S. Steel contract
Members of United Steelworkers 8782 have been given their first look at the
tentative collective agreement for locked out workers at Lake Erie Works in
Nanticoke.
President Bill Ferguson says the agreement includes a $3,000 signing bonus, new
profit sharing plan with the majority of concessions off the table, and a new
pension plan for new employees.
The details were revealed to union members on Monday night.
A ratification vote is scheduled for Thursday and, if successful, Ferguson says
employees would be back to work within the next two to three weeks.
Hundreds of workers at Lake Erie Works were locked out by the company in August
and have spent the last eight months at the front gates without a contract.
U.S. Steel idled the plant just over a year ago as steel demand slowed, which is
the subject of an ongoing lawsuit against the company by the Canadian
government.
Steel demand
spurred labour settlement
TheSpec.com
- Business - Steel demand spurred labour settlement
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Apr 10,
2010)
A "back door" approach to the national office of the United Steelworkers was
the move that reignited contract talks to end an eight-month lockout of workers
at the Lake Erie plant of U.S. Steel.
The approach by the company that, like the union, is headquartered in
Pittsburgh, came as a reviving economy is demanding more and more steel.
"We started talking again because I got a call from Pittsburgh," said Bill
Ferguson, president of USW Local 8782. "After eight months of lockout the
company didn't want to come right to me so they went to the national. That's
usual down there."
However the approach was made, it led to a tentative agreement late Thursday
afternoon.
Details are being withheld until a membership meeting next week, but Ferguson
said he's pleased with the package.
"When we started there were huge concessions on the table, as much as $12 an
hour," he said. "The concessions the company wanted were just huge."
Issues in the dispute included pensions, benefits, plant work rules,
seniority and overtime.
"I think we're going to have a good discussion with the members about this,"
he added. "I'm not going to raise or lower expectations, but I think we did the
best we could."
Erin Weir, economist with the United Steelworkers' Canadian arm, said there
are clear signs the industry is picking up.
"The steel industry and steel markets are very healthy right now," he said.
"Eight months ago it was easy for the company to leave that facility closed, but
the markets are improving so that was an incentive to get the company back to
the negotiating table."
Steel industry analyst Chuck Bradford, of New York-based Affiliated Research
Group, said it's likely an improving economy was the chief force pushing the
company to seek a settlement.
"Orders for steel have definitely improved and the Lake Erie plant is one of
the better plants that company has," he said. "The auto part of the market is
definitely improving and that's important for Lake Erie."
At the recession's lowest point, Bradford said North America's steel industry
was using only 40 per cent of its production capacity. Today about 70 per cent
of that capacity is being used.
As demand for its steel rises, Bradford added, the company has been faced
with production problems at other plants, increasing the need to get the
Nanticoke facility back in service. One such issue is the blast furnace at U.S.
Steel's Gary, Ind., plant which is out of commission for three months.
Idled production capacity, he added, also meant steel producers have been
late in making deliveries to customers. That's a critical issue for automakers,
whose "just in time" production systems mean they keep only one or two days'
worth of inventory on hand.
"There's been a lot of talk about large U.S. steel companies being behind in
deliveries," Bradford said. "That causes some customers to have to double-order
and they don't like doing that."
Weir agreed the accelerating auto industry has brought a major boost for
steel production, especially in Hamilton where both steel mills rely on auto
customers.
"Not that long ago it looked like Chrysler and GM would disappear, but now GM
is on a stable footing and Ford is doing very well again," he said. "Everyone is
still below their peaks, but we have come back from the depths."
Nanticoke steelworkers will get details of the tentative agreement Monday at
6 p.m. at the Port Dover Community Centre. After a 48-hour cool down period, the
ratification vote will be held Thursday.
Tentative
deal reached at Nanticoke If ratified, will end 8-month lockout by U.S.
Steel
TheSpec.com - Business - Tentative deal reached at Nanticoke If ratified,
will end 8-month lockout by U.S. Steel
Daniel Nolan
The
Hamilton Spectator
NANTICOKE
(Apr 9, 2010)
A tentative contract has been struck between U.S. Steel Canada and the
United Steel Workers after an eight-month lockout at Lake Erie Works.
The two sides reached an agreement late yesterday afternoon following
bargaining sessions that began March 29.
Bill Ferguson, president of USW Local 8782, was relieved a deal had been
reached following the lengthy lockout, but U.S. Steel Canada spokesperson
Trevor Harris declined to comment until after workers vote on whether to
ratify the contract next Thursday at the union hall in the Nanticoke
Industrial Park.
The tentative agreement comes amid reports the steel industry is rebounding
after being battered by the recession. The automotive, oil and gas industries
have all begun buying more steel products and steel companies are increasing
production.
Ferguson wouldn't reveal details until after his membership views the
tentative deal, but reiterated that "it's good to have a deal. I think it's a
relief we've got a deal. The company was serious about bargaining and wanted
to get a deal done, and it just goes to show when the company is serious, you
can get things done."
Harris couldn't say how soon workers would be back at work if the contract
is accepted, but Ferguson said the union leadership will be talking about that
issue this weekend. He said about 250 members retired and some steelworkers
found other jobs during the dispute.
"We have to reach out and see who's still interested in coming back," he
said.
Details of the agreement will be presented to the membership Monday at 6
p.m. at the Port Dover Community Centre. The union said there will be a
48-hour cool down period before the ratification vote.
U.S. Steel Canada laid off about 800 workers from Lake Erie Works in March
2009, citing the recession as reducing demand for steel. It locked out the 200
remaining workers in August after contract negotiations collapsed over a
litany of issues such as pensions, financial concessions, plant work rules,
seniority, overtime and the discontinuance of food services.
"They wanted everything back," said Ferguson. "We figured it was at least
$12 per hour in concessions that they presented to us in August. Everything in
a monetary nature they wanted back. The concessions were legendary."
U.S. Steel Canada is embroiled in a legal dispute with the federal
Conservative government over accusations it violated employment and production
pledges to Ottawa when it bought Stelco in 2006.
dnolan@thespec.com
905-526-3351
U.S. Steel talks resume
Posted By MONTE SONNENBERG, SIMCOE REFORMER
April 8, 2010
A glimmer of hope has emerged in the bitter labour dispute
between U.S. Steel and workers at its plant in Nanticoke.
Details are sketchy due to a news blackout, but the corporate giant and
negotiators for Local 8782 of the United Steelworkers are back at the bargaining
table. Members of the bargaining team posted a message on the Local 8782 website
saying they are "optimistic" about reaching a new collective agreement.
Sources at the local's head office in Nanticoke said Steelworkers
International was instrumental in getting the two sides talking again.
Negotiations leading to a new collective agreement broke down last summer
after the parties realized they were far apart on basic terms. Representatives
of Local 8782 met with U.S. Steel officials in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the
weekend following an invitation to travel there from Steelworkers International.
U.S. Steel is based in Pittsburgh, but negotiations this week have resumed at an
undisclosed location in Ontario.
It is not clear that the Lake Erie plant could resume production any time
soon even if a new collective agreement were reached quickly. Many former
employees have retired or found work elsewhere since a lockout Aug. 3 put the
last of the workers out on the street.
"We've taken a big hit," Donna Wingrove, the union's financial secretary,
said Wednesday. "People have to get on with their lives. People can't live on
Employment Insurance."
Giulio Cicconi, treasurer of Local 8782, said social programs are inadequate
for working families with more than two children.
"A lot of our skilled people have gone elsewhere," he said. "We won't know
what we have left till we do a callback."
Layoffs at the Lake Erie plant started last year at this time. When the plant
finally closed Aug. 3, 700 workers had been laid off , 200 had been locked out
and 200 had retired.
As well, at the time of closure, there were reports that molten metal had
hardened inside the main blast furnace in Nanticoke, creating a "skull" that
will require a concerted effort and millions of dollars to correct. No one at
Local 8782 yesterday knew the status of this situation.
"This operation has never been taken this low," Wingrove said. "We don't know
what we'll find when we get back -- if we ever get back."
Steelworkers
say work being shipped south
TheSpec.com
- Business - Steelworkers say work being shipped south
Claim steel
sent to Indiana instead of idled Lake Erie
Rachel De
Lazzer
NANTICOKE
(Mar 24, 2010)
Laid-off and locked-out workers travelled less than one kilometre from their
idled Lake Erie steel plant to set up an information picket at a second,
neighbouring steel plant.
That's a far shorter distance than the steel they believe is being sent to
places such as Indiana for coiling when their idle facility could have done the
same process.
Both local plants are owned by U.S. Steel.
"It's not cost effective at all," said Paul Mason, political action chair of
United Steelworkers' Local 8782. "This is politically motivated by U.S. Steel
... We know we can be making the same product ... better product, than what's
coming by trucks and we're a block away."
U.S. Steel spokesperson Trevor Harris said he could not comment on the
concerns because they relate to an ongoing labour dispute between the company
and the union.
About 800 workers from the idle plant were laid off from U.S. Steel Lake Erie
Works in March last year, which Harris said was because of the recession. The
remaining 200 workers were locked out Aug. 3.
Local president Bill Ferguson said the key point is that steel used in the
Canadian industry is being brought in from the U.S., while plants such as Lake
Erie remain closed: "I think that, in general, what you're seeing is a movement
throughout Canada ... where manufacturers are closing up in Canada and moving to
the United States. That's what happens when you don't have Canadian owners."
The union claims the steel leaving the pickling facility, formerly owned by
Nelson Steel, is stamped "Made in Canada." Harris said he was not aware of any
Made in Canada designation being required and so could not comment.
More than 50 workers gathered at the pickling site yesterday morning,
stopping trucks leaving the facility to alert drivers of their concerns before
letting them continue on their way. They plan on continuing the picket every
day.
The workers from both plants are part of the same Local 8782, but different
units. Mason emphasizes they are both on the same team and there is no tension
between them over the picket line.
Mason said the union suspects the slabs originate in Hamilton, then travel to
various U.S. Steel plants south of the border for coiling.
"We do know ... that slabs are going to the States (from Hamilton) and we
also know that there is steel coming back from the States into Canada. Those are
givens. And they are calling it Made in Canada," he said, explaining why the
union has concluded the steel makes what would in some cases be a journey of
more than 1,000 kilometres.
Pickling is the process of cleaning hot-rolled steel coils before further
processing.
The federal government has sued U.S. Steel under the Investment Canada Act,
alleging it broke production and employment promises made when it acquired
Stelco in 2007.
rdelazzer@thespec.com
Pickets
target U.S. Steel pickling facility
-Posted By BARBARA
SIMPSON- The Simcoe Reformer also in the Brantford Expositor
Local U.S. Steel workers are claiming the steel giant is skirting
around its Nanticoke mill by rerouting its operations through an intricate
processing procedure. In response, workers erected a secondary picket line
outside of the former Nelson Steel pickling facility on Tuesday.
While transport trucks back into loading bays, a handful of locked out
workers have rallied around the now U.S. Steel pickling division to draw
attention to the ongoing business. Workers claim steel slabs made at
Hamilton's U.S. Steel facility are being rolled into coils in the United
States. The coils are then shipped back to Hamilton, where they are
eventually pickled at the former Nelson facility -just a stone's throw
away from the locked out Nanticoke steel mill. The finished products are
supposedly destined for Honda Canada.
From first a slab in Hamilton to coil in Nanticoke, this
1,500-kilo-metre trip is clearly politically motivated, said Paul Mason,
political action chair of the United Steelworkers Local 8782.
"They're willing to drive 1,500 kilometres to make a point," he said,
explaining it is clearly not a cost efficient process.
The local union also takes issue with the steel being labelled Canadian
when, in fact, the steel is also being handled on United States soil.
"We object to that very, very strongly," he added.
Local 8782 workers are employed and continue to work at the Nanticoke
pickling facility. They have not been affected by the upheaval at the
neighbouring U.S. Steel plant because they are under a different contract,
Mason explained.
Under the watchful eye of security stationed in a black SUV on Tuesday,
pickets felt their message was getting through. Drivers honked their horns
in support of the workers, who are now approaching eight months of being
locked out of the Nanticoke steel mill.
"I wanted to work another three years, but I couldn't stand the
management style," said Paul Coutts, a retired Nanticoke steelworker. He
worked 27 years at the Nanticoke facility after seven years at the
Hamilton operation.
Although retired, Coutts is still impacted by decisions the U.S.-based
steel company is making on behalf of its employees. He said that the
company has backed out of its cost of living contract -a subsidy that was
supposed to aid retired workers. And he is worried that his pension may be
next affected.
"It (cost of living) doesn't amount to a lot of money, but it's the
principle of the thing," he said from the picket line on Tuesday.
The fear of losing his pension is part of the reason locked out
electrician Scott Matthews is standing firm with the union. The 29-year
veteran of the steel mill also noted that it is difficult for a
middle-aged worker to land a job these days.
"I got two kids in university and I can't get loans for them," he
added.
The group of pickets huddled outside the front gates of the pickling
plant have been keeping a running tab of local U.S. Steel workers who have
lost their homes. To date, they believe the figure rests around 39.
About 1,100 employees at the Nanticoke steel mill are currently out of
work with no sign of when the plant will re-open. The first round of
layoffs happened over a year ago on March 14, 2009. Four hundred and
eighty workers were initially laid off followed by successive waves of
layoffs. The company locked out the last 200 workers in August.
The job losses has led to the loss of homes and meant added pressure on
families.
"It's really nasty, but all it's doing is strengthening our resolve,"
Mason said.
To drive the point home, the local union will be permanently stationing
pickets at the Nanticoke pickling facility.
A comment from U.S. Steel was not available by press time. Previously,
company spokesperson Erin DiPietro said: "We don't publicly discuss our
business planning activities for competitive reasons." |
Chinese
steel hit with duty
TheSpec.com
- Business - Chinese steel hit with duty
Subsidized
products harm Canadian industry, trade body rules
Kristine Owram
The Canadian
Press
TORONTO
(Mar 24, 2010)
The government body that regulates trade in Canada has ruled that a duty
needs to be slapped on some Chinese steel imports.
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal found the domestic steel industry
has been harmed by the subsidization and dumping of some Chinese steel products
used in the oil industry, and an anti-dumping duty will be collected as a
result.
The duty will be as high as 166.9 per cent, depending on the company that
produced the product, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.
The decision could have negative implications for the domestic oil and gas
industry, raising the cost of materials at a time when producers are already
dealing with higher labour costs on many expansion projects.
However, this doesn't matter to the Canadian steel industry, which has been
hurt by a slump in demand caused by the worldwide recession that echoed through
the auto, appliance, construction and capital goods industries.
"We're pleased with the decision. What they found today was a ruling on past
injury, and that's what we were waiting for," said Randy Sockovie, director of
sales and marketing at Lakeside Steel Inc.
Welland-based Lakeside Steel initiated the anti-dumping complaint, along with
Tenaris and Evraz, two international steel producers with operations in Canada.
Evraz is the former Ipsco Steel with major operations in Regina.
Sockovie said subsidization and dumping meant Chinese exports of some steel
products to Canada were running anywhere from 10 per cent to 40 per cent cheaper
than similar Canadian-produced goods.
Similar trade measures in the U.S. provoked a strong rebuke from China late
last year.
Washington said it would place levies as high as 99 per cent on some steel
pipes imported from China, causing China to retaliate with an anti-dumping probe
into the American auto industry.
Dumping occurs when one country exports a significant amount of goods to
another country at prices much lower than in the domestic market.
China produces some 600 million tonnes of steel a year, or approximately half
of the world's total output, and is increasing manufacturing capacity to keep up
with massive infrastructure projects.
The trade tribunal will release the detailed reasons for its decision on
April 7. Yesterday's ruling applies to casing and tubing used in oil and gas
wells and other parts of the energy industry.
The fight to
save Siemens
TheSpec.com
- Opinions - The fight to save Siemens
Howard Elliott
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Mar 20,
2010)
It the end, it's possible -- quite likely, in fact -- that no amount of
lobbying or limited incentives on the part of Hamilton and/or Ontario would have
caused Siemens Canada to revisit its decision to move 550 Hamilton jobs to North
Carolina.
Company executives have said the decision was based on moving the company's
gas turbine manufacturing business closer to the busiest part of that market,
which is in the United States. No doubt that's true, but it's also true that the
state government offered enticements of up to $22.75 million in tax breaks and
grants. County and city governments offered millions more, and there exists in
North Carolina a county agency that can offer up to $120 million in low-interest
loans. In return, Siemens promises to invest $135 million and create more than
1,000 new jobs in Charlotte over five years. (We hope, for North Carolina's
sake, that Siemens is more trustworthy than U.S. Steel, which made job
commitments when it took over Stelco and promptly ignored them when the economy
went south.)
We know that Ontario was in intense negotiations to get Siemens to stay in
Hamilton, according to provincial Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello,
and that the province had incentives on the table. But it's unlikely they were
anything close to the rich offerings made by North Carolina, and Siemens did
what its owners would have expected and demanded and made the best decision it
could for the company overall.
The best we can hope for now is that Hamilton officials will have success
trying to convince the company to reinvest in Hamilton, possibly in Siemens'
renewable energy division, which apparently is looking to invest in Ontario.
Failing that, there is no silver lining, certainly not for the hundreds of
workers displaced by the decision.
There are troubling questions here. First and foremost, how can Hamilton, and
Ontario, compete to attract and retain new business in an environment where
competing jurisdictions seem willing to give away the entire farm to win the
business? By law, we're not allowed to "bonus." Our regulatory, political and
financial regimes are much more conservative on these matters, which undoubtedly
makes for more sound public policy, but doesn't help Hamilton's battered tax
base or the displaced workers who won't be able to pay mortgages and other
bills. How do we compete?
And when we do, shouldn't we compete as a team? It turns out that although
Ontario was lobbying hard to keep Siemens in Hamilton, it never bothered to let
Hamilton political or economic development officials know about the
negotiations. How can that make sense? It's unlikely Hamilton could have added
enough to change the outcome, but surely it should have been at the table?
We can be happy that the province fought the good fight, even though it lost.
But next time this happens, and it will, common sense would dictate
collaboration is a better strategy than doing business in silos. When it comes
to economic development and renewal, we're all on the same team, right?
1,000 rally
for Lake Erie workers
TheSpec.com
- BreakingNews - 1,000 rally for Lake Erie workers
Dana Brown
NANTICOKE - About 1,000 people are estimated to have taken part in a rally at
Lake Erie Works Sunday afternoon.
On-hand was a slew of politicians from all levels of government, including
federal NDP leader Jack Layton and Minister of Human Resources and Skills
Development MP Diane Finley.
United Steelworkers Local 8782 rallied to mark the first anniversary of when
layoffs at the U.S. Steel started. After the layoffs, the remaining 200 workers
were locked out over a contract dispute. A total of 800 workers have been
affected.
The crowd outside the front gate was dotted with flags showing support from
numerous unions, including workers who had travelled from Sudbury to show
support.
Signs called to “Keep Stelco producing” and to “Protect our pensions benefits
severance pay.”
David Stone, 53, who was caught up in layoffs last year, said he’s hopeful the
plant will fire back up.
“It’s not just our jobs. It’s the whole ripple (effect) and it’s generations
down the road.”
The union is using the shutdown of the plant as a lesson in the dangers of
foreign takeovers of Canadian industry -- the former Stelco was taken over by
U.S. Steel in 2007.
The federal government is also showing concern over that issue, launching a
lawsuit against U.S. Steel alleging the shutdown violates production and
employment promises the company made in the original purchase agreement.
Local 8782 has standing in that case and is using it as a platform to lobby
provincial and federal governments on issues such as employment insurance,
employment standards and training.
Steelworkers’ Local 1005 will be holding a rally in Hamilton on May 1 to protest
the loss of manufacturing jobs.
A march will start at the Hamilton Convention Centre at 1 p.m. Doors to the
convention centre open at noon.
-With files from Hamilton Spectator Staff
United they
stand tall
The union flags that waved in the crisp afternoon air were different colours
-- bright pink, deep blue, and of course, white -- but they all came together in
a united show of solidarity.
It was a powerful message delivered by hundreds of unionized workers --
ranging in industry from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Society of
Energy Professionals, and of course, various locals of United Steelworkers
Canada -- at a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the first round of
layoffs at the U.S. Steel facility in Nanticoke on Sunday.
Some supporters even travelled from as far away as Toronto, Niagara Falls and
even Sudbury to stand outside the front gate of the idled steel mill.
"We want to show our solidarity with our other brothers and sisters too,"
said Marc Cayen, a Sudbury Vale Inco worker who has been on strike for the last
nine months. He proudly wore a lime green T-shirt with the words "union thug"
emblazoned on his chest.
Joining unionized workers were a handful of politicians from all three tiers
of government and political parties -- including NDP MPP Andrea Horwath, former
Liberal MP Bob Speller and even a visit from NDP leader Jack Layton -- who
delivered powerful calls to action.
During his speech, Layton pulled out his Blackberry to read from an e-mail he
sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In it, he listed off handfuls of
companies who have been sold off, including Dofasco, Stelco, Molson and Labatt.
"Is nothing sacred? Nobody else can make Canadian beer, except Canadians," he
quipped to a roar of applause. "The same goes for the best steel in North
America is made by Canadians and it's made in plants like this one right here."
He also took aim at Harper for shutting down parliament for two months,
preventing debate on an NDP bill in February that would safeguard employees'
pensions in the event of bankruptcy. Layton claimed Harper "got an idea from
U.S. Steel" back in December.
"It's called putting a padlock on the workplace, except it's called
prorogation," he told the mass of workers. "Well, prorogue this, Stephen
Harper!"
While local MP Diane Finley was on hand to deliver her support, her
appearance was met with some contempt from unionized workers who booed and
jeered.
"The mayor (Norfolk mayor Dennis Travale) described it best when he said that
this situation is totally unacceptable," Finley said. "It is. That's why our
government is fighting U.S. Steel in court, that's why I've been fighting to get
you extra benefits."
About 1,100 employees at the Nanticoke facility are currently out of work
with no sign of when the plant will re-open. Sunday's rally paid homage to the
first round of layoffs that happened on March 14, 2009. Four hundred and eighty
workers were initially laid off followed by successive waves of layoffs. The
company eventually locked out the last 200 workers in August.
Calling the current situation "unacceptable" at U.S. Steel, Norfolk mayor
Dennis Travale finished his own speech with a simple message for the company.
"U. S. Steel -- open those gates, open the plant and start production!" he
called out to a thunder of applause.
-- With files from Daniel Pearce Barbara Simpson 519-426-3528, ext. 112
bsimpson@bowesnet.com
1,000 rally
for Lake Erie workers
TheSpec.com
- BreakingNews - 1,000 rally for Lake Erie workers
Dana Brown
NANTICOKE - About 1,000 people are estimated to have taken part in a rally at
Lake Erie Works Sunday afternoon.
On-hand was a slew of politicians from all levels of government, including
federal NDP leader Jack Layton and Minister of Human Resources and Skills
Development MP Diane Finley.
United Steelworkers Local 8782 rallied to mark the first anniversary of when
layoffs at the U.S. Steel started. After the layoffs, the remaining 200 workers
were locked out over a contract dispute. A total of 800 workers have been
affected.
The crowd outside the front gate was dotted with flags showing support from
numerous unions, including workers who had travelled from Sudbury to show
support.
Signs called to “Keep Stelco producing” and to “Protect our pensions benefits
severance pay.”
David Stone, 53, who was caught up in layoffs last year, said he’s hopeful the
plant will fire back up.
“It’s not just our jobs. It’s the whole ripple (effect) and it’s generations
down the road.”
The union is using the shutdown of the plant as a lesson in the dangers of
foreign takeovers of Canadian industry -- the former Stelco was taken over by
U.S. Steel in 2007.
The federal government is also showing concern over that issue, launching a
lawsuit against U.S. Steel alleging the shutdown violates production and
employment promises the company made in the original purchase agreement.
Local 8782 has standing in that case and is using it as a platform to lobby
provincial and federal governments on issues such as employment insurance,
employment standards and training.
Steelworkers’ Local 1005 will be holding a rally in Hamilton on May 1 to protest
the loss of manufacturing jobs.
A march will start at the Hamilton Convention Centre at 1 p.m. Doors to the
convention centre open at noon.
-With files from Hamilton Spectator Staff
Lake Erie
workers to rally one year after Nanticoke layoffs
TheSpec.com
- Business - Lake Erie workers to rally one year after Nanticoke layoffs
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Mar 13,
2010)
Lake Erie steelworkers will mark a sad anniversary tomorrow -- one year since
the start of a round of layoffs at the plant that eventually idled 800 workers.
That layoff, at what was once considered the most productive steel plant in
North America, was followed in August by the lockout of the remaining 200
workers over a contract dispute.
To mark the anniversary, United Steelworkers Local 8782 is planning a rally
at the front gate of the plant, starting at 1 p.m. Local politicians and labour
leaders have been invited to show support.
More concrete support has already been shown by Local 1005 workers in
Hamilton, who raised more than $10,000 in a plant gate collection for the Lake
Erie staff.
The union is using the shutdown of the plant as a lesson in the dangers of
foreign takeovers of Canadian industry -- the former Stelco was taken over by
U.S. Steel in 2007. The federal government is also showing concern over that
issue, launching a lawsuit against U.S. Steel alleging the shutdown violates
production and employment promises the company made in the original purchase
agreement.
Local 8782 has standing in that case and is using it as a platform to lobby
provincial and federal governments on issues such as employment insurance,
employment standards and training.
