The Politics of Steel Are Center Stage in Pennsylvania
"Wall Street investors and U.S. Steel executives obviously stand to gain the most from Nippon ... while leaving union members in the cold," it continued.
The union said the sale isn't just up to shareholders and executives -- and it isn't wrong. It needs approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a Biden administration committee that includes several members of his Cabinet.
It also needs approval from the Justice Department.
"This thing of 'shareholders are king' or that you work for the shareholders, you guys know me, I do not work for the shareholders. Write down that. I do not work for the shareholders. I only work for people like me that have the long-term commitment with the company," said Goncalves, who was speaking to about 100 UAW Local 3303 steelworkers who produce the grain-oriented steel here that is critical for the production of transformers in the country's electrical grid.
"Until it's closed, it's not a deal. It's just a pie in the sky," said Goncalves, whose Cleveland-based company has the backing of the union.
"They messed with the wrong people," he continued. "They messed with Lourenco Goncalves, and they messed with the union," he said of the United Steelworkers' wishes.
The charismatic CEO, who is well known for his strong ties with the unions that work at his different plants, said it is the unions that make the plants run and, in turn, are the best representation of what is best for the company.
"The USW are the people that make the company go and the only ones that make the company be something that will be here for this generation, the next generation, the generation after next," he said.
"That's the strength of our relationship. That's how this country became the United States of America, the envy of the world. And that's what we need to bring back.... This is a very important moment in the history of manufacturing in the United States," he said.
Cleveland-Cliffs operates 21 steelmaking plants and one tubular works. It had operated a tinplate production plant in nearby Weirton, West Virginia, which began the process of shutting down this month, costing over 900 workers their jobs.
...continued
Copyright 2024 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
