last spring, displacing USW members who made tin sheet for bottlecaps, jar lids and food cans. Many of these union members slashed household spending, put off retirement plans and took lower-paying, nonmanufacturing jobs after having the rug pulled out from under them. Some now juggle two jobs to make ends meet. Others are still figuring out their next steps, which may involve relocating their families.
The very same tragedy is playing out in Weirton, West Virginia, where illegal dumping recently forced Cleveland-Cliffs toIn addition to the downsized Weirton facility, only U.S. Steel’s Portage mill and the Ohio Coatings Co. continue to produce tin sheet and related products. It makes no sense to throw away the expertise of America’s tin mill workers or to abandon the manufacturing capacity built up over many years at the mills in Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. USW members negotiate capital investments as part of their collective bargaining agreements with U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs to ensure facilities like the tin mills remain viable.
Key representatives and senators also joined the fight. For example, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana were among several members of Congress who sent the Commerce Department and ITC a letter underscoring the high stakes.