Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

'We've got to feed our families': Steelworkers brace for coming layoffs

GRANITE CITY -- Union leaders are still waiting to learn more about how many steelworkers will be affected by temporary layoffs that could begin as early as next week.

On Tuesday, U.S. Steel Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Surma announced the furloughs were coming to those who work in one of the two blast furnaces at Granite City Works and another at U.S. Steel's plant in Gary, Ind. The move is a result of the company's poor third quarter results. The Pittsburgh-based company reported losses of $303 million, or $2.11 per share, during the past three months.

Those temporary layoffs will affect some of the 530 members of the United Steelworkers of America Local 50 in Granite City. Union president Jason Chism said the union had just called back its last workers after the entire steel mill had been idled beginning last December and steel workers were temporarily laid off through the summer.

Now, some of those workers could be laid off again. Chism is still awaiting definitive plans but believes the layoffs could come as soon as next week.

"We're definitely going to get affected," Chism said Wednesday. "At this time, I don't know the total impact. We will have a meeting today and tomorrow about manpower and numbers."

Local 1899 President Dan Simmons, whose union represents the vast majority of steelworkers employed at Granite City Works, also said the furlough could come by next week, but has yet to hear more details. He said the all but approximately 47 employees who were laid off between December and March had been called back.

"Until it was actually announced, these managers down here had no knowledge of it," Simmons said. "It kind of caught everybody and everyone by surprise."

Steelworker Eric Pomeroy, of Granite City, said this was no surprise to him.

"Not with the economy being the way it is," said the 14-year employee, who works in the finishing plant. "It's a horrible time. The same time last year, I was laid off on the 13th of December. I was out for seven months. So I just recently got back in early August."

Other Granite City Works steelworkers who do not work in the plant's furnace are wondering what will happen next.

"You don't want to lose your job," said Jim Campbell, of Glen Carbon. "We've got to feed our families. It's not good, but I can only hope that it is temporary. I've heard they don't have that many orders for next month. We just hope it gets better."

"We're going backwards, and we just hope it doesn't get really bad," said Larry Sorenson, of Waterloo. "This whole thing will get better, we're all hoping and praying. I'm sure things will get better."

Said John Ryan, "I've been in the steel industry, it will be 31 years in January, and if I paid attention to every rumor that took place, I'd be in a constant state of depression. So I don't pay too much attention to it."

But city residents are taking notice and are wondering if the effect this will leave on the community and its neighborhoods.

"I think it's not going bother the city unless they shut it down, because that's our tax base," said life-long city resident Tom Candler, 68.

"I think it will affect them really bad," said Althea Hogan, who has lived in the city for past 20 years. "If they lay off or it shuts down or whatever, it will turn into a ghost town."

St. Louis real estate appraiser Brannon Plummer said he believes another layoff will affect the rest of the community and those beyond the steel's mill's property.

"... When you have a blue-collar community that relies on that steel mill, that's going to hurt everybody," Plummer said. "It's not just going to hurt the people that work at the mill. Whether it's in real estate or everything else in the neighborhood, from what I've seen over the last few years, I've been doing it for about 13 years in this area, definitely think Granite was always a good, stable area where you didn't have to worry about that till recently."