Turkey, deer and coyote replace the steelworker

Coffee ran out early as over 1,000 braved a raw east wind last week to rally at plant gate Lake Erie Works.

It has now been over a year since events precipitated the idling of North America’s most productive integrated steel mill.

As we know, U.S. Steel Corporation, the largest steelmaker in the United States, took over Nanticoke’s Lake Erie Works when it acquired Stelco Inc. in 2007 at a price of $1.2 billion. This was Canada’s last domestically-owned steel mill – Dofasco, Algoma and Stelco have all been bought out by foreign companies.

As a result, US Steel Nanticoke has become one of the province’s largest greenfields - providing wildlife habitat for what appears to be an ever increasing population of turkey, deer and coyote.

We have a U.S. company that purchased Canadian plants, and those Canadian plants are now vulnerable to foreign competition – under President Obama’s Buy America regime - from U.S. plants owned by the same company. U.S. Steel has indicated it’s got to wait for the economy to come back and the price of steel to return, but as a result, Steelworkers Local 8782 has 1,100 laid-off and 157 locked-out.

In response to my questions on the Finance Committee this Winter, Steelworkers Economist Erin Weir responded, “I would share your concern and surprise that US Steel has closed down the Lake Erie Works. Certainly, I think that was seen to be one of the more efficient and cost-effective facilities in North America…..In terms of vulnerability to international competition, that could be heightened by having the company also owning facilities in the United States.”

What’s going on down at Nanticoke is not a strike; it’s a layoff and a lockout.
Again in response to my queries at Finance, Economist Weir noted, “we do tend to take the view that if the employer chooses to lock us out, that's analogous to being laid off involuntarily, and the workers in that situation should receive employment insurance benefits. I would note that in many American states, locked-out workers would receive unemployment benefits, so I'm very glad that you and others are making the case for that kind of reform in Canada.”

And yet when I ask the Ontario Government what it has done - what will it do - I am met with non-answers and accusations. In the Legislature, last month I asked the Premier: “What have you personally done in the past year to get a thousand Steelworkers back to work? Have you or has your minister met with the company? Have you met with the Steelworkers? Have you met with the mayors?? Have you taken any steps whatsoever to save these jobs? Has Ontario contacted Ottawa….or Washington?”

Check the Hansard record, you’ll find no answers to these questions.
We have government for a reason. Ontario needs a plan for primary industry – for heavy industry like steel. Union Leadership of 8,782 report that while they have met with government representatives, to date they have received no clear intention regarding any action to achieve resolution.
When I go down to plant-gate, instead of people heading back and forth to work, I see turkey, deer, I hear coyotes at night – and this at a facility that, until recently, anchored our regional economy.