USW: ‘Responsible management’ is key for U.S. Steel’s future

He expressed confidence in the company’s ability to succeed moving forward under dependable and trustworthy leadership.

McCall’s comments may be a hit at U.S. Steel’s current president and CEO, David Burritt. Under Burritt’s leadership, USS broke previous commitments to invest heavily at the company’s unionized Mon Valley Works in Pennsylvania and instead chose to buy the non-unionized Big River Steel mill in Arkansas. USW has also blasted Burritt for keeping the union out of talks when the steelmaker was considering the offers to buy it.

U.S. Steel has “a long history of being competitive,” McCall pointed out on Friday, noting it also has a “considerable amount of liquidity,” a solid customer base, and great equipment.

Additionally, he said the steelworkers in America are the most productive in the world and are committed to safely making high-quality steel products. “Our members are dedicated to making sure that they are a significant part” of U.S. Steel’s success, he commented.

When asked if Cleveland-Cliffs or another domestic investor could provide the investment U.S. Steel’s leadership says it needs, McCall said, “That’s a question I can’t respond to.”

If another company makes an offer to USS, it will be up to the USS board of directors to decide, he said. However, any deal would need to follow the union’s labor agreements and ensure the long-term viability of the facilities and its steelworkers.

Future of Granite City and Mon Valley Works

During the year-long PR campaign for the deal, Burritt had threatened that the steelmaker would move away from integrated steelmaking if the deal with Nippon fell through.

So McCall addressed the future of the steelmaker’s Granite City and Mon Valley Works on Friday’s call.

The union’s hope would be for the company to continue using Granite City’s assets in Illinois. There’s still very good equipment there, McCall said, including continuous casters and two blast furnaces.

He suggested that the company could even restart production of tin mill products at Granite City. U.S. Steel has reduced its tin production in recent years, and currently only makes those products at its Gary Works’ Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind.

USS indefinitely idled the A furnace at Granite City in April 2020 and the B furnace in November 2023. Both furnaces have annual ironmaking capacities of 1.3 million short tons (st), according to SMU’s Blast Furnace Status table.

Recall that SunCoke Energy agreed in 2022 to buy the two furnaces at Granite City. Its plan is to convert them to pig iron production and then sell the pig iron to U.S. Steel’s Big River mills in Arkansas. SunCoke is committed to the project, but it has been held up by the USS/Nippon deal.

As for the Mon Valley Works, McCall said its future looks good, as it makes “the highest quality, cheapest hot band in the system.”

Mon Valley operates two blast furnaces with a combined ironmaking capacity of more than 2.2 million st per year.

“Responsible management will continue to invest in those facilities,” he stated.