About 50 union and non-union employees of U.S. Steel joined union leaders and company executives at a state Capitol news conference Wednesday to announce formation of the Iron Ore Alliance. They were joined by Governor Mark Dayton and members of the Legislature from northeastern Minnesota.
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| Flanked by union members, company representatives and Governor Mark Dayton, United Steelworkers District 11 Director Bob Bratulich announced formation of the Iron Ore Alliance. |
“I’m an older guy, but this is for the younger people,” said Deek Vukich, a 41-year employee of U.S. Steel’s Minntac operation in Mountain Iron and member of United Steelworkers Local 1938. He traveled to St. Paul with fellow Minntac employee Jon Maynard, a 31-year veteran of the company and a fourth-generation iron ore miner.
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| Deek Vukich and Jon Maynard, members of United Steelworkers Local 1938 at Minntac. |
The Alliance will give greater visibility to the importance of U.S. Steel’s iron ore operations and advocate for tax, environmental and other regulations and policies that foster industry and job growth, the parties said.
“The Iron Ore Alliance is focused on protecting existing jobs, creating new jobs in the years ahead, while being ever mindful of our responsibility to the environment,” said Bob Bratulich, director of United Steelworkers District 11.
U.S. Steel’s two northern Minnesota operations at Minntac and Keetac directly employ 1,864 people, including 1,700 members of the United Steelworkers. Each of these jobs creates an additional 1.8 jobs in other sectors of the economy, the Alliance said.
The company’s payroll in Minnesota topped $141 million in 2012 and provided more than $58 million in local, state and federal taxes, according to the Alliance. U.S. Steel also provided millions in health care and pension benefits.
“These are the type of good-paying, family-sustaining jobs so important to a healthy, vibrant economy,” said Chris Masciantonio, general manager of governmental affairs for U.S. Steel.
In response to a reporter’s question, Masciantonio said the Alliance’s goal of job creation is compatible with environmental protection.
“We recognize mining is a challenging industry on many different levels,” he said. “We do it, we feel, in a very responsible manner. . . We want to make sure that decisions made here [at the Capitol] that could impact the mining industry are based on science, based on fact and not on emotion.”
Workers agreed. “There are [environmental concerns],” noted Maynard. “But anything can be overcome. The technology is there. We can make it cleaner, better.”
Minnesota – and in particular researchers at the University of Minnesota – had the brainpower to create the process to make taconite from iron ore.
“Send your kids to the University of Minnesota and hopefully they can develop that next technology,” said Maynard.
For more information
See the website of the Iron Ore Alliance
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About 50 union and non-union employees of U.S. Steel joined union leaders and company executives at a state Capitol news conference Wednesday to announce formation of the Iron Ore Alliance. They were joined by Governor Mark Dayton and members of the Legislature from northeastern Minnesota.
 |
| Flanked by union members, company representatives and Governor Mark Dayton, United Steelworkers District 11 Director Bob Bratulich announced formation of the Iron Ore Alliance. |
“I’m an older guy, but this is for the younger people,” said Deek Vukich, a 41-year employee of U.S. Steel’s Minntac operation in Mountain Iron and member of United Steelworkers Local 1938. He traveled to St. Paul with fellow Minntac employee Jon Maynard, a 31-year veteran of the company and a fourth-generation iron ore miner.
 |
| Deek Vukich and Jon Maynard, members of United Steelworkers Local 1938 at Minntac. |
“We need to keep young people on the Iron Range,” Maynard said. “We have had a massive migration to the Twin Cities especially.”
The Alliance will give greater visibility to the importance of U.S. Steel’s iron ore operations and advocate for tax, environmental and other regulations and policies that foster industry and job growth, the parties said.
“The Iron Ore Alliance is focused on protecting existing jobs, creating new jobs in the years ahead, while being ever mindful of our responsibility to the environment,” said Bob Bratulich, director of United Steelworkers District 11.
U.S. Steel’s two northern Minnesota operations at Minntac and Keetac directly employ 1,864 people, including 1,700 members of the United Steelworkers. Each of these jobs creates an additional 1.8 jobs in other sectors of the economy, the Alliance said.
The company’s payroll in Minnesota topped $141 million in 2012 and provided more than $58 million in local, state and federal taxes, according to the Alliance. U.S. Steel also provided millions in health care and pension benefits.
“These are the type of good-paying, family-sustaining jobs so important to a healthy, vibrant economy,” said Chris Masciantonio, general manager of governmental affairs for U.S. Steel.
In response to a reporter’s question, Masciantonio said the Alliance’s goal of job creation is compatible with environmental protection.
“We recognize mining is a challenging industry on many different levels,” he said. “We do it, we feel, in a very responsible manner. . . We want to make sure that decisions made here [at the Capitol] that could impact the mining industry are based on science, based on fact and not on emotion.”
Workers agreed. “There are [environmental concerns],” noted Maynard. “But anything can be overcome. The technology is there. We can make it cleaner, better.”
Minnesota – and in particular researchers at the University of Minnesota – had the brainpower to create the process to make taconite from iron ore.
“Send your kids to the University of Minnesota and hopefully they can develop that next technology,” said Maynard.
For more information
See the website of the Iron Ore Alliance