GRANITE CITY — Steelworkers here expressed skepticism Saturday at U.S. Steel’s announcement the day before that it will continue processing steel slabs at its Granite City facility, a reversal of a decision announced earlier this month.
United Steelworkers Union officials said at a union rally in downtown Granite City that they want a long-term commitment from the company here.
“Brothers and sisters, this is not long-term,” Michael Millsap, the union’s district 7 director, told more than 100 people.
The company said Sept. 9 it would end delivery of slabs to Granite City in November and shift slab processing to its facilities in Indiana and Pennsylvania, where the steel slabs are produced.
But on Friday, it reversed course. “We are going to be shipping slabs to Granite City,” Amanda Malkowski, spokesperson for U.S. Steel, said.
The news affects roughly 800 workers still employed at the facility as of this month.
There was already no steel production at the 130-year-old mill in Granite City. Its last blast furnace for steel production was indefinitely idled in 2023.
But workers continued to process steel slabs, including rolling and finishing operations.
Millsap said the commitment doesn’t go beyond 2027 and that the union wants the company ”to start these furnaces back up” permanently.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, a Democrat whose district includes Granite City, called on President Donald Trump to extract commitments from the company’s owners.
“We have to keep the pressure on U.S. Steel and this administration,” Budzinski said.
Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson said the president should meet with him about the situation. “It’s time for you to step up and do more,” he said. “We want forever.”
Parkinson acknowledged that the president has aided the Granite City workers’ efforts to keep the plant operating but that more help is needed from the White House.
A White House spokesman, Kush Desai, earlier in the week said the administration “is focused on continuing to restore American steelmaking” through deregulation, tariffs and tax cuts for the working class.
U.S. Steel, in announcing its previous decision to stop processing in the Metro East, said no layoffs would have occurred.
But the company wasn’t clear then on what work, if any, employees would be doing there. Malkowski said employees would “maintain the facility in case the situation changes and run auxiliary facilities.”
In June, Trump green-lit a deal allowing for Tokyo-based Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel after the Japanese company increased its guarantees of investment in U.S. Steel facilities.
Budzinski told reporters Saturday that she wants to focus on steering some of that investment to Granite City.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Kelsey Landis | Post-Dispatch
St. Louis County government reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today
Jack Suntrup | Post-Dispatch
Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today