Congressional Steel Caucus to Hear Testimony from Steel Industry Experts and Industry Leaders
The Congressional Steel Caucus, chaired by U.S. Representative Pete Visclosky (D-IN), will hold a hearing in Washington, DC on Tuesday, to listen to testimony from steel industry experts and industry leaders whose testimony will assist Congress' with efforts to help stabilize the U. S. steel industry.Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL) a member of the Caucus, invited Dan Simmons, President, Local Union 1899, United Steel Workers (USW) to attend and give testimony "about the impact of the 6 month long shut down of the Granite City Works of United States Steel Corporation on the lives of steelworker members, their families, and our community".
At a press conference this morning Dan Simmons said his testimony to the Congressional Steel Caucus will include statements losing good paychecks and health insurance, and "how we felt as we went to the unemployment lines and watched miles and miles of steel pipe imported from India being unloaded in our backyard."
When asked what led to the problems within the U.S steel industry, Mr. Simmons responded by emphatically pointing to glut of steel products imported from countries that subsidize their own steel industries. Such subsidies lower prices on the imported products below the prices our own steel producers can match. Dan said these problems could be solved if trade laws and policies already on the books were enforced, and that, "given a fair playing field U.S. workers will compete with anybody."
Dan, an employee at United States Steel Corporation's Granite City Works in Granite City, IL, said he and other employees were happy that plans were being made to resume some operations at the facility within the next 2 to three weeks. He explained that orders had grow sufficiently to restart the facility that has been idle for 6 months, and that while waiting for the blast furnaces to start producing iron, steel slabs would be shipped in from other U.S. Steel facilities to be used in the Hot Roll department.
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