Too little, Too late

It's truly hard to fathom how a situation that had so much promise can turn south due to negligence on the part of the people in power that could have made something great happen. Equally disturbing is that on one hand, we have a labor organization that is suppose to be representing the best interests of its membership and their families, along with the communities that they live in, and on the other hand is you have an Employer and potential Buyer that should be looking out for these same groups of people. Thirdly, and maybe the most disturbing and concerning is that we have these politicians that have constituents (that use to actually mean something to politicians) who care more about their own political agenda's and the furtherance of their own careers in politics than those of the people in the districts, States and yes, even with the Country.

It truly is sad to think that there was this potential for something great to happen with the attempted purchase of the iconic USS (United States Steel Corporation) by the fourth largest Steel Company in the world, Nippon Steel of Japan. The Capital Investments that are so desperately needed to update these old mills and modernize them to where they can still produce steel, be a major competitor in the market, help in the efforts to clean up the environment, and provide more jobs than currently are being provided, and in fact grow the workforce. Additionally, there is so much more that could have been gained with this merger/acquisition that when looking at several "high-ticketed items," such as the potential for the Union to obtain a seat on the BOD (Board of Directors), continue the existing Corporate Governance provision, the Successorship Provision, the Job Security Provision, the Capital Investment Provision, etc., I mean the list goes on and on.

There existed a great opportunity to get financial backing from Federal, State and County assistance in making many of these Capital Investment projects become less painful on the purchaser, all the while getting the purchaser, Nippon Steel to provide job level guarantee's over a specific time period. This is truly how it works in the "adult world" but apparently not in this case. Perhaps that's because we haven't been dealing with adults.....

While we sit back and watch the government playing this waiting game involving the Justice Department (Anti-Trust Division) and the CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) to see how this presidential election turns out, is going to bite everyone in the rear end. A decision should be issued at once as there is no legitimacy to this CFIUS issue raised by several politicians across the aisle as well as the President or Republican nominee for President. It's all a big waiting game because no one wants to lose the votes of the people impacted. Instead, it seems apparent that they are more interested in not losing votes than they are in people and communities losing jobs. As ludicrous as this must sound, this is exactly what is going to happen.

If anyone truly believes that Cleveland-Cliffs can ride in on their "white horse" and save the day when the deal with Nippon falls apart, think again. US Steel will look nothing like it does today if Cliffs acquires it. There simply is too much duplicity of work and much will either have to be sold off or shut down to satisfy the Justice Department. On the other hand, if Nippon were to be able to acquire this company, all that they should technically be required to do to satisfy the DOJ is to sell off its 50% ownership in their plant in Alabama and it appears that they are prepared to do so and that their partner in this venture is eager to purchase it from Nippon.

So if one were to simply analyse this situation to try and reach a conclusion as to why this has been made so difficult when it really didn't have to be, one should look at Cliffs, some of their Board members, the self-serving politicians, and ask oneself if the agenda of all, or some of these entities and/or individuals even care about the actual employees that are working at these US Steel facilities. Do they even really care about the future of their families, the communities, or the tax base of the County and State if these manufacturing sites do not continue to run and/or shut down. The other, much easier option is to see that "ALL" the sites that US Steel own will be operated at full capacity by Nippon Steel as they would intend to pour much more than the contractual amount of $1 billion dollars into this business venture.

Finally, as to the USW and their "hold out" for greater guarantees that they are seeking from Nippon but don't seem to be able to obtain, I would pose this very simple question. Do you have the same guarantee from Cleveland-Cliffs that you are seeking from Nippon Steel? In other words, if you're holding out for something more, such as guarantees forever, I would challenge the USW to show anyone, anytime, anywhere, where you have open-ended guarantees for active and retirees, because it simply doesn't exist. It is truly disingenuous for the Union to hold this process up by seeking the impossible from one purchaser when they will not achieve it from another. Guarantees are not intended for a lifetime when it comes to bargaining Labor Agreements and all that comes with them. Guarantees that a Company will continue to operate indefinitely is not achievable and the reasons are because of the "unknowns".

So I simply close with this thought. Nippon Steel, get off your rear ends and pony up a serious offer to the USW that makes it too good for them, or better yet, for their members to turn down. US Steel, you should be assisting Nippon in this effort as its in your best interests to do so, but more importantly, its in your employees and their communities best interests to do so. USW, quit acting like you have control over all the levers here as you truly don't and you know it. You will lose this battle if it goes to court. Get the best deal that you can for the members that you represent because that is what you are liable and responsible to do in your representation of them. Finally, all you politicians that think you know and understand all the issues at play here, just shut up and let this process run its course and stay out of trying to run businesses across the Country. You'll serve your constituents, the Country, and your own political careers far better if you concentrate more on doing your own job, either as a US Senator, US Congressman, and yes, even as President of the United States. Washington D.C. is the most dysfunctional than I have ever seen it during my adult life. I love my Country but I don't love what you are making it become with your obvious inability to function as the Legislative and Executive Branch of our Government.

STEP UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING NOW, BEFORE ITS TOO LATE TO ACT.

Tim Dean

Dean Labor Management Consulting, LLC

(304) 633-2270