U.S. Steel Corp. has announced it intends to purchase only the steel-making assets of the bankrupt National Steel Corp., a move that could leave National Steel Pellet Co. and its 400 Keewatin iron ore miners out in the cold, the Steelworkers union said.

In the wake of the announcement, United Steelworkers of American District 11 Director David Foster called on Gov. Tim Pawlenty and other elected leaders to form an Emergency Response Team to address "the growing crisis on Minnesota's Iron Range."

Said Foster, "I'm very concerned that U.S. Steel intends to leave NSPC in an untenable position in the bankruptcy process - without a customer, no capital and saddled with the responsibility for 24,000 National Steel retirees' health benefits. If this transaction stands as proposed, it could sound the death knell for another Minnesota taconite plant."

As the American steel industry restructures, more taconite plants are threatened, Foster said. "In the last few weeks we have witnessed the impending sale of steel company interests in Minntac, Hibbing Taconite and now a restructuring at National that threatens the survival of that company. Eveleth Taconite is also facing serious steel company partner and customer issues.

"The state and federal governments need to act now to stabilize the relationship between Minnesota's taconite industry and its steel company customers."

Tariff changes needed
Foster also called on the Bush administration to revisit its approach to tariffs on semi-finished steel products. "The Bush administration instituted a system of tariff-rate quotas in March 2002 which actually encouraged an increase in the import of semi-finished products," he said. "Steel slabs that compete directly with Minnesota taconite were imported at record levels in 2002. Unless immediate action is taken, hundreds more jobs will be lost and the health insurance of thousands more retired iron ore miners and their spouses will be lost."

Steelworkers District 11 is headquartered in Minneapolis and covers 13 northwestern states. Among its members are the hourly employees at five of Minnesota's six remaining taconite plants and 12,000 retirees. About 1,700 National Steel Pellet retirees depend on the company for their health insurance.

For more information

Visit the Steelworkers national union website, www.uswa.org