Production pruning - Georgetown steel mill reopening unlikely
Wednesday, 04 Nov 2009
It is reported that the watching and waiting for the buzz of activity to resume at the ArcelorMittal's Georgetown steel mill will likely have to wait until 2011.
Mr James Sanderson local president of United Steelworkers Union 7898 said that he got a call from a corporate official to tell him, "Because of deteriorating market conditions our plant will not open up this year, and it probably won't open up until 2011."
For the plant's more than 200 employees who have been out of work since the plant's shutdown on July 10th 2009, it means more than a year without full pay and overtime. Employees are eligible for unemployment benefits, plus supplemental pay called sub pay and paid training.
Mr Sanderson said that "It's very upsetting for the workers because they were looking at hurrying up and coming back to work. Some of their benefits are being reduced to a lower level. There are not that many jobs in Georgetown at all. Sub pay will be reduced after they have been laid off for six months, and after a year, it will be 40% of their base pay for most workers. It's getting bleaker and bleaker."
Many of the workers said they turned down the offer because they felt the reduced hours and wages would not allow them to make ends meet. Workers said they were able to make extra money with overtime and incentives, and there was no guarantee how many weeks the mill would be open or that wages would return to normal after the recession ends.
