U.S. Steel ‘must be stopped’ from moving jobs, production out of Canada, USW say

TORONTO—U.S. Steel must be stopped from “destroying” its Canadian operations the United Steelworkers union says.

U.S. Steel Canada entered bankruptcy protection last September. Meanwhile, its parent company, USS, plans to move production to its American facilities, despite objections of Canadian workers and a court-appointed bankruptcy protection monitor, USW says. The union added the move will result in significant job cuts and millions in lost business for USSC’s operations.

“Thousands of Canadian workers and pensioners will suffer if U.S. Steel is allowed to continue on this path,” USW Ontario director, Marty Warren, said.

USW pointed to the federal government’s position on USS, saying the Conservative government has consistently “refused to hold U.S. Steel to its legal obligations to maintain jobs and production in Canada.”

“When is the federal government going to stand up to U.S. Steel and defend Canadian workers and pensioners?” Gary Howe, president of USW Local 1005, said.

USS was allowed to take over Stelco in 2007 and has been engaged in a legal battle with workers and government virtually since that time.

“The Conservative government has enabled a shell game in which the company has moved production to the U.S. and slashed jobs in Canada,” Warren said. “The Ontario government and a former Stelco president have come to the same conclusion, that U.S. Steel set up its Canadian operations to fail so that it could abandon its obligations to our workers, pensioners and communities.”