In all corporate acquisitions and mergers under capitalism, corporate executives and major shareholders squeeze as much profit out of a transaction as they can. Since its acquisitions of AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA in 2020, Cleveland-Cliffs has increased gross profits over fivefold, raking in $4.5 billion in 2021 compared to $809 million in 2018. On August 11, USW International President Tom Conway told delegates at the union’s national convention in Las Vegas that “the union’s priority must always be making sure that workers come home safely at the end of their shifts.” This is a slap in the face to every worker who has had to work forced overtime, risk their health from exposure to high temperatures and carcinogens, been injured or lost loved ones and coworkers due to the concessions contracts signed by the USW behind their backs. The recent accident, which could have been fatal, further discredits the “safety first” claims of the USW. Fewer workers and high productivity demands in the mills have translated into long hours, fatigue, injury and death.įour steelworkers were killed at the Indiana Harbor mill between 20.
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With explicit language in the USW contract, US Steel and ArcelorMittal were free to hire low-paid temp labor with few benefits to fill positions. The USW defied unanimous strike votes and signed a four-year deal, which did not include a single protective measure for workers’ jobs.Īfter the cutting of the labor force to the bone, the conditions of the remaining workers are even worse. The last national collective bargaining agreement between ArcelorMittal USA and the USW was pushed through behind the backs of workers in 2018 after the union blocked a nationwide strike against US Steel and ArcelorMittal USA. Joint safety committees regularly sacrifice safety to corporate profit. The USW long ago abandoned any struggle against the corporations and adopted the corporatist program of labor-management partnership. As in every instance in which the union and management have collaborated on “investigations,” this will be a cover-up. In response to the injury at Indiana Harbor, the USW and Cleveland-Cliffs are also carrying out a joint investigation. OSHA carried out nine inspections from January 2018 to September 2020 when ArcelorMittal owned and operated the mill, which included the investigation into two workplace fatalities for which the corporation faced no more than wrist slap fines. The young worker’s injury has not yet been recorded in the OSHA Establishment Search database. OSHA has reported one safety referral, one safety complaint, and two unspecified safety inspections at the Indiana Harbor mill since Cleveland-Cliffs began operating it in September 2020. In response to the tragedy in Ohio, for which Cleveland-Cliffs and the IAM bear joint responsibility, local president Shawn Coffey could only say it was “an unfortunate accident.”ĭangerous conditions have hardly improved at Indiana Harbor since the Cleveland-Cliffs takeover. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is conducting its own investigation into Blanton’s death, which will take at least six months to complete. The death was ruled an “accident” after a joint investigation by the corporation and International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 1943. The company issued a mealy-mouthed statement of sympathy to the press. Cleveland-Cliffs acquired the mills as part of its acquisition of AK Steel in 2020, the same year the company acquired ArcelorMittal USA to become North America’s largest producer of raw steel.īlanton died of head trauma while he was performing routine maintenance, according to the Butler County Coroner’s Office. On July 26, two days before the young worker was injured, 46-year-old Wessley Blanton was killed at Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works in Middletown, Ohio while working in the hot strip mill. Neither Local, District or International Facebook pages or websites even mentioned the accident. Neither Millsap nor USW Local 1010 officials made any public comments expressing sympathy with the injured worker or his coworkers who witnessed the traumatic event.
The age and identity of the worker are being kept from the press, with Cleveland-Cliffs spokesperson Patricia Persico citing a company “standard privacy protocol.” The Times reported that the injured worker was a recent high school graduate. Molten steel being poured at the Indiana Harbor Mill (Source: ArcelorMittal)
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