Business & Tech

First Large Group of Steelworkers Returns to Sparrows Point

Almost three weeks after the pending sale of Sparrows Point to the Renco Group was announced, 250 steelworkers are expected to have returned to work by the beginning of April.

Recently recalled United Steelworker union members began the first of three days of safey workshops at the Sparrows Point mill on Monday morning to prepare for the restart of the plant's primary operations—including the "L" blast furnace.

After completing the three-day general safety workshops, workers are scheduled to move to their specific departments for further safety and production training.

“The company is still putting the plans together regarding how they are going to recall workers, but they foresee calling everyone back,” said John Cirri, president of United Steelworkers Local 9477. “From about three weeks ago [when the first workers began returning] and through the next two weeks ahead, probably 250 people will be back at work.”

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Until recently, about 850 steelworkers remained on layoff from Sparrows Point. The Russian-owned OAO Severstal, which is finalizing the mill's sale to the Renco Group, announced in July that it was idling the primary side's hot mill at Sparrows Point.

Severstal later announced in November that the hot mill would remain idle at least through March. However, there were no guarantees that Severstal would ever restart the “L” furnace. For months, questions remained about a potential sale of the mill, and if there was a future for steelworkers at this historic mill, once the world's largest.

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“I’ve been laid off since Nov. 11 and it was a struggle,” said Jimmie Kesler, 39, a senior operations technician for blast furnace utilities, adding that he turned to his religious faith over the last four months for emotional support. “We had fallen a month behind with the mortgage, but the mortgage company worked with me. With supplemental benefits [from belonging to the union], and Maryland unemployment, we got by.”

A married father of two from Carroll County, Kesler has been working at Sparrows Point for 15 years, through several sales and continued uncertainty about the plant's viability and U.S. steel industry.

“I got here in ’96 and I thought about becoming a Baltimore City police officer, but once I got four years under my belt, I decided to stick with it,” Kesler said. “When the plant was sold it was a relief. We’ve lived so long with uncertainty. Hopefully with this company, the future will be a little brighter.”

Crane operator Lettice Sims, 35, of Essex, has been working at Sparrows Point for 11 years. A single mother, she said she’s been laid off for seven months and has be recalled "a week here or a week there” over that period.

“Financially, with supplemental benefits and unemployment insurance, it was not that much of a burden, although I did have to cut back on some things,” Sims said. “Thankfully we have the union to fight for us. Emotionally, it was draining. I don’t know (what the future holds). Hopefully we are here for two, three, five years. Some kind of a feeling of stability is important as a single mother.”

Both Kesler and Sims said they are ready to put the Severstal years behind them, and hope the mill’s new owners will invest in capital improvements.

“It’s very important if we want to be a serious contender in the steel industry,” Kesler said.

Cirri has said previously that he’d like to see a plate mill built at Sparrows Point, enabling the facility to compete for windmill and military contracts.

Meanwhile, as work begins to restart of the “L” blast furnace and raw materials are being ordered, USW members are still examining summaries of the tentative union contract with the Renco Group compiled by local 9477. The tentative contract is expected to be completed soon. A summary is scheduled to be mailed to union members for a vote in the next few weeks.

Cirri said the main concerns of union members have been about capital investment guarantees—which are part of the tentative contract. The tentative contract requires that “appropriate capital expenditures” are made by the new owners to ensure Sparrows Point’s assets are “world class and retain them as such.”

Signing bonuses and back wages that were sought are not part of the tentative contract.

“The International (Steelworkers union) did their best in these negotiations that the B.L.A (Basic Labor Agreement) would include a signing bonus and back wages, but there is no obligation from the new company for any kind of back wages and signing bonus,” Cirri said. “You’re talking about $36 million. That’s a lot of money, and I think it’s being used to get our furnace up and running.”

Union workers at Sparrows Point had been working for two years without a long-term labor agreement with Severstal, falling behind USW agreements with U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal. Cirri acknowledged that while union members are disappointed about the signing bonuses and back wages, most are happy to be returning to work.

“Overall, the majority are glad to be back and the plant has another chance,” Cirri said. “And we’re hoping that we get new capital funding. When you’ve been sold five times in the last eight years, it creates a feeling of unsteadiness.”

The tentative agreement with the USW immediately increases wages $1 per hour, and 4 percent each year through September 2014 for all current USW workers at Sparrows Point. The contract also calls for increased health and pension benefits.

Doug Hicks, 22, of Bel Air, an assistant operations technician in the tin mill, has worked at Sparrows Point for three years. He’s been laid off since November, but was hopeful about his future—and the mill's—Monday.

“Coming back today is exciting,” said Hicks, whose father, Frank Hicks, has been working at Sparrows Point for 41 years. “Given the economy and how everything has been going, I feel like there is a future here.”


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