Sen. Sherrod Brown to visit striking Shelby steel workers on Nov. 8

SHELBY — Sen. Sherrod Brown will visit Shelby on Monday morning to address the workers on strike against ArcelorMittal.

Brown will likely begin his visit at the union hall, then walk to the picket lines, union president Norm Shoemaker said.

ArcelorMittal has not responded to requests for comment.

Members of the United Steel Works Local 3057 have been on strike since their contract expired at midnight on Oct. 31. Shoemaker and Brian Sealy, a regional representative for USW, say the company’s representatives walked out of negotiations just hours before the contract expired.

“Shelby ArcelorMittal walked away abruptly from the negotiating table, which we believe warrants an Unfair Labor Practice charge,” Shoemaker said. “The union negotiating team believed they were close to a fair agreement they could take back to the membership.”

The union began bargaining with ArcelorMittal about seven weeks before the end of their contract, Sealy said. Sealy claimed the company’s representative made its final offer Sunday, then left to drive back to Pennsylvania before members could discuss whether to accept it.

“We were moving right along with proposals back and forth yesterday in an attempt to reach an agreement,” he told Richland Source on Monday. “It caught us totally by surprise.”

Sealy said he met with ArcelorMittal negotiators on Tuesday and Wednesday, but did not reach an agreement.

The parties will meet again on Monday.

“We don’t have any real movement as far as getting to that agreement,” he said. “Any time we get a little movement, they take it away from somewhere else and we’re back to square one.”

The primary issues holding up the contract are pensions, health insurance premiums and unpaid time off. Workers are asking for weekends off, specifically for holidays like Easter and Thanksgiving.

“Shelby has always been a 7-day-a-week operation,” Shoemaker said in a statement. “It has become extremely important to the members to have time off with their families in light of the current climate.”

Shoemaker also said the employee pension has only been addressed once in the last two decades. The yearly multiplier was at $75 and has dropped to $54 over the years.

Shoemaker said ArcelorMittal has also implemented a three-tier insurance program and mandated new hires go into a plan with higher premiums and deductibles.

“This has caused hardship within these families and the bargaining unit,” he said.

The Shelby plant was founded in 1890 by Jonas Feighner as Shelby Steel Tube. The plant became the birthplace of the seamless tubing industry in America. In 1908, the plant burned to the ground, so Shelby citizens bought stock to help rebuild the facility known today as Plant 1.

During World War I, all of the tubing produced by the plant was used to build American troop ships and other machinery to support the war effort. During World War II, the tubing was used to make airplanes, artillery and other machinery. The plant flown by Charles Lindbergh during his trans-Atlantic voyage contained parts made at the Shelby plant.

The employees at the plant banded together to form the USW Local 3057 in August 1943. The union currently has over 500 members. Those members are picketing the plant around the clock and asking for donations from the community.

“The USW Strike and Defense Fund program does not begin until three weeks of a strike has passed,” Shoemaker said. “Even then, it is very modest.

“Since the members are not working, there is no money coming into the local to help the day-to-day operations during this strike. Without this money, the daily needs of food and drink for families and those walking the picket lines is difficult to provide.”