US Senator John Fetterman is far from impressed with the planned sale of US Steel to a Japanese company. He made his feelings known again in a video post on his X account on December 18, 2023.
In the video, which has gotten the attention of over 4 million viewers, the Pennsylvania senator expressed outrage over the sale and vowed to block the deal. “Steel is always about security,” the senator said. “I am committed to anything I can do, from using my platform or my position, in order to block this,” he continued.
Fetterman’s video came on the heels of the recent announcement of the sale of a major US steel plant. The announcement led to the stock price of the steel company jumping by 25%.
On Monday, December 18, the company disclosed that it had reached a deal with Japanese company Nippon Steel. Nippon will acquire the Pennsylvania-based steel company for $14.9 billion. The company mentioned that the decision was unanimously made by its board, describing Nippon Steel as a “global leader in steelmaking, innovation, and decarbonization.”
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Interestingly, Sen. Fetterman’s house is in the Pennsylvania town of Braddock, which hosts the steel company. The senator made the video on the roof of his house, just overlooking the company.
In the video, Fetterman decried corporate America’s insensitivity to their host communities’ plight. “This is yet another example of hard-working Americans being blindsided by greedy corporations willing to sell out their communities to serve their shareholders,” he proclaimed.
Fetterman, who prides himself as pro-worker and pro-union, also described the sale as “outrageous,” saying “it’s wrong for workers.” The senator vowed to “fight for the steelworkers and their union way of life here as well, too.”
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The United Steelworkers Union expressed their disapproval of the deal. In a statement by its president, David McCall, the union derided Nippon for moving ahead with the acquisition without first consulting with the union.
McCall declared that the deal was founded on greed and violated due process. He disclosed that a union agreement binds any US steel buyer to strike a new labor agreement before any sale.
“Neither US Steel nor Nippon reached out to our union regarding the deal, which is in itself a violation of our partnership agreement that requires US Steel to notify us of a change in control or business conditions,” McCall claimed.
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An Ohio-based steel company, Cleveland Cliffs, had previously attempted to purchase the steel company for $7.3 billion. The United Steelworkers Union welcomed the proposal but rejected by US Steel.
The union was impressed by Cleveland Cliffs’ pro-worker stance, especially the fact that it didn’t cut jobs during its previous acquisitions of other companies. It also said Cleveland Cliffs was in the “best position to ensure that US-based manufacturing remains strong in this country.”
Luckily for the steelworkers, they have secured the support of the Democrat lawmaker. The video should give them extra confidence in their fight against the planned sale.
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