The president of the United Steelworkers (USW) local representing the hourly workers of ArcelorMittal's idled US wire rod mill, James Sanderson, told local press Monday that the mill is likely to remain closed through 2010.
Sanderson said company officials informed him Friday night that the firm's Georgetown, South Carolina wire rod mill, which was idled in July 2009, will not be reopened this year, and probably will not be reopened in 2010 either as there has yet to be any significant improvement in market conditions since the mill's closing.
Since the mill's closure, the nearly 250 unionized steelworkers that had been employed at Georgetown have received supplemental benefits, with those with the longest service able to collect these benefits through July 2011. Workers are also eligible to receive paid training for other job opportunities. Prior to the mill's full idling this past summer, ArcelorMittal officials had given union workers the option to continue working, but at reduced pay and hours to match the decreased demand for the mill's products; however, the workers rejected this proposal and ArcelorMittal closed the mill indefinitely, pending an improvement in market conditions.