U.S. STEEL’S PROPOSED SALE TO NIPPON STEEL IMPERILS WORKERS, THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND OUR NATIONAL SECURITY IN A NUMBER OF WAYS:
JEOPARDIZES
NATIONAL SECURITY
A strong domestic steel industry allows us to meet our defense and critical infrastructure needs. Allowing U.S. Steel to be bought by Nippon, a company with financial ties to China, leaves our nation vulnerable and presents opportunities for foreign competitors to undermine one of our core domestic industries.
ENDANGERS
AMERICAN JOBS
U.S. Steel’s board of directors had several viable options for the future direction of the company, but chose to prioritize short-term financial gain for shareholders at the expense of good, family-sustaining jobs.
PUTS PENSIONS
& BENEFITS AT RISK
Nippon, a Japanese corporation not authorized to do business in the United States, has offered little more than promises when it comes to the pensions, health care, capital investments and other obligations our contracts require it to assume. Instead, it hides behind a shell company that reports no public financial information and provides no guarantees it will meet Nippon’s commitments.
VIOLATES USW
AGREEMENTS
USW members have faced this sort of situation before, which is why we negotiate enforceable guarantees that a company seeking to buy our facilities cannot shirk its responsibilities to workers and retirees. Instead, both U.S. Steel and Nippon are choosing to ignore the portions of our contracts they find inconvenient, leaving us to fight to enforce our agreements.
Lawmakers across the political spectrum support USW members and oppose this acquisition as we fight to protect our global security and national competitiveness.
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Nippon Steel Shows its True Colors
Nippon Letter More Window Dressing, Empty Promises
Biden Calls for U.S. Steel to “Remain Domestically Owned and Operated”
Meeting with Nippon Yields No Progress
USW Hill Communications on Proposed USS-Nippon Deal
Smoke and Mirrors USS/Nippon Style
Biden Offers Support, USS Demonstrates Disinterest in Resolving Dispute
Nippon Steel Fails to Provide Needed Information
USW Files Grievances Against USS Asserting Violations of the Successorship Clause
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April 2, 2024
Bloomberg: US Steel Union Rejects Nippon Steel Letter as ‘Meaningless Piece of Paper’March 18, 2024
CNBC: USW President David McCall on Nippon-US Steel deal: Doesn’t work for us in any meaningMarch 14, 2024
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Biden says it’s ‘vital’ for U.S. Steel to remain owned and operated by AmericansMarch 13, 2024
AP: Biden opposes plan to sell US Steel to a Japanese firm, citing the need for ‘American steel workers’March 8, 2024
FOX Business: Union: Meeting between United Steelworkers and Nippon goes nowhereMarch 7, 2024
Bloomberg: Steelworkers Say No Progress Made in Nippon Steel MeetingFebruary 17, 2024
Pittsburgh Business Times: Union, U.S. Steel fail to reach agreement over grievancesFebruary 16, 2024
Tribune Review: David McCall: Proposed sale of U.S. Steel puts America’s security at riskJanuary 29, 2024
Pittsburgh Business Times: United Steelworkers say Nippon Steel isn’t giving them enough informationDecember 22, 2023
FOX Business: Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel was more than a surprise: David McCallDecember 21, 2023
AP: Biden believes U.S. Steel sale to Japanese company warrants ‘serious scrutiny,’ White House saysDecember 19, 2023
The Hill: Lawmakers push to stop ‘fundamentally troubling’ sale of US SteelDecember 18, 2023
CNBC: “Last Call” with Brian SullivanDecember 18, 2023
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: U.S. Steel: Fetterman, Casey criticize the company’s proposed $14B sale to Nippon SteelDecember 18, 2023
Tribune Review: U.S. Steel workers in Western Pa. unsure what Nippon deal means for local mills, their futureDecember 18, 2023
Axios: United Steelworkers union blasts $15B U.S. Steel-Nippon DealDecember 18, 2023
Bloomberg: United Steelworkers Union Says Nippon Deal for US Steel Won’t WorkDecember 18, 2023
CNN: US Steel, once the world’s largest corporation, agrees to sell itself to a Japanese companyDecember 18, 2023
ABC: US Steel to be acquired by Nippon SteelDecember 18, 2023
AP: Storied US Steel to be acquired for more than $14 billion by Nippon Steel -
A broad, bipartisan chorus has already spoken out against the proposed U.S. Steel/Nippon deal and in favor of workers and their communities. These include:
“It is important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers. I told our steel workers I have their backs, and I meant it. U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”
WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC ADVISOR LAEL BRAINARD:
“The President…believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity—even one from a close ally—appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability…”
“Nippon and U.S. Steel have insulted American steelworkers by refusing to give them a seat at the table and raised grave concerns about their commitment to the future of the American steel industry.”
“The United States’ marquee steel company should remain under American ownership. From initial reports, this deal appears to be a bad deal for Pennsylvania and for Pennsylvania workers. I’m concerned about what this means for the Steelworkers and the good union jobs that have supported Pennsylvania families for generations, for the long-term investment in the Commonwealth, and for American industrial leadership."
“The acquisition of @U_S_Steel by a foreign company is wrong for workers and wrong for Pennsylvania. I’m gonna do everything I can to block it.”
“This is a major blow to the American steel industry which has been instrumental in making us the superpower of the world and a direct threat to our national security. At a time when domestic manufacturing – including in the U.S. steel market – is facing increased competition from unfair trade, we must be doing everything we can to prevent any further deterioration of American ownership. Today’s announcement of the sale of one of our oldest building blocks, the 122-year-old U.S. Steel, does the exact opposite. I have always said that when we have a level playing field, American workers will win every time. But we cannot have a level playing field while we are dependent on foreign supply chains. I am committed to doing anything I can to protect what remains of America’s steel industry and prevent any loss of good-paying American jobs.”
“The United States used to lead the world in production of steel, but we have fallen behind. The sale of U.S. Steel to a foreign-based company only exacerbates that problem. I will be working with local and state officials to ensure the future of this critical plant and its great workers.”
PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO:
“I want to make sure that if anything goes forward, it’s to the benefit of the workers and the benefit of this region,” Shapiro said. “I think U.S. Steel has shown an utter disregard for this region in recent years.” “I think they owe it to this region, they owe it to this commonwealth, to do better by us, and so I’m going to search for a solution that ultimately protects our jobs, does better for the region, and treats people with respect around here.”
“The union representing the U.S. Steel workforce, the United Steelworkers (USW), has raised significant concerns about Nippon’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel, including a failure by both parties to consult USW in the process – which appears to be a violation of U.S. Steel’s partnership agreement with USW. The proposed acquisition of a major American steel producer by a foreign company also raises questions about the implications of this acquisition for U.S. national security and domestic steel production capabilities.”
“U.S. Steel’s history is a part of so many Western Pennsylvania families—generations built a solid life working hard for the iconic American steel company. I am honored to represent the people who made the steel that built America. Our region knows all too well what it’s like to get screwed over, to see our hard work tossed aside and our good union jobs shipped overseas by corporate executives and Wall Street chasing cheap labor and fatter profits. Today’s announced sale to a foreign company feels like déjà vu all over again. This deal sounds an awful lot like a betrayal: of my community, of Steelworker jobs, and of American industrial leadership. Folks sent me to Washington to fight for us, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
“Since day one, I have stood with labor and voted to support transformational federal investments in the American steel industry, and now that we are poised for robust growth in the coming months and years from these actions, we must not allow foreign ownership of U.S. Steel to jeopardize the strength of our economy, our national security, and the livelihoods of steel-producing communities throughout our nation.”
“Domestic steel production is as vital to our national security as it is to the thousands of union workers who staff our steel plants every day and who strongly oppose this takeover. This sale would deliver a major blow to the American steel industry, which has been instrumental in building the United States into the superpower it is today. At a time when domestic manufacturing – including in the American steel market – is facing increased competition from unfair trade, we must do everything we can to prevent further deterioration of American ownership.”
“Once again, shareholders want to line their pockets while leaving union workers behind and harming domestic manufacturing. U.S. Steel should remain a U.S. company and should put @steelworkers and their families above their own greed.”
“We spent yesterday talking to community members + workers & we feel the same—blindsided & concerned by the sale of US Steel to Nippon. Labor must be centered in the process, yet workers weren’t even informed nor do they feel confident their hard-earned agreements will be honored.”
“I am deeply concerned that Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel could lead to the further decline of the U.S. steel and manufacturing sector. I am particularly concerned about the San Francisco Bay Area steel mill in Pittsburgh, where there are nearly 700 well-paid and skilled jobs. In Congress, I secured ‘Make It In America’ provisions in the Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. These provisions expand job opportunities, protect our supply chains, and lower costs for consumers. I will continue to work tirelessly to preserve and expand the employment opportunities provided by this sector and prioritize the interests of United Steelworkers Union Local 1440 workers in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
“The acquisition of U.S. Steel by a foreign owned company should never have occurred without the buy in and support of @steelworkers. Haven't we learned from the offshoring debacle with steel? Workers deserve a seat at the table.”
“I am disappointed to hear that U.S. Steel did not take the concerns of their workers seriously, and I’m disturbed to learn that U.S. Steel did not properly inform them of the upcoming change of ownership as required by the collective bargaining agreement. This deal is a betrayal of these workers, and I join in their calls and with all of my elected colleagues in calling for regulators to scrutinize this sale in order to protect these family-sustaining jobs in Pittsburgh.”