Friday, April 30th, 2021 is not a date that will live in infamy.
It will not be celebrated in any way.
Schools will not teach kids about the significance.
It was only the day that the basis of our regional identity unofficially died, in my opinion.
Did U.S. Steel break a promise to achieve clean air quality and keep jobs in the Mon Valley or were they hassled out of the region by decades of ever-moving environmental goal posts?
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Steel is the reason most of us live in this area. Our people followed the work and dreams that lead them to the Golden Triangle.
Our livelihoods, or those of our ancestors, can be directly or indirectly tied to the basic marriage of iron ore, coal, and limestone. Steel brought the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free straight to southwestern Pennsylvania.
‘The New Colossus’ brought people from far away lands to one region - forming one identity.
This area, its collective worker, and its products built this nation and saved the world from tyranny a few times. It even proudly rebuilt a large portion of the bombed out ancient lands that ‘the wretched’ once fled.
Pittsburgh Steel and the industries it spawned or supported provided millions with a chance - a chance - at the uniquely American dream. Yes, the labor was intensive and physical, even deadly. It extracted a heavy toll.
And, in spite of efforts to modernize and improve environmental performance, it pollutes and scars. Steel production accounts for 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions according to the World Steel Association. However, U.S. Steel aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050. A lofty achievement considering that carbon is the product’s second ingredient.
Clean steel could have all happened here. It likely won’t. CEO David Burritt all but stated it in ‘An Open Letter To Our Pittsburgh Family.’
Steel provided a launch towards a better life for countless families. The pursuit of happiness. It built proud communities where people who once fled feudal systems could actually build wealth and buy homes of their own. The former serfs were now able to save and educate their offspring, if they so chose.
But that is the past. Our steel industry not the engine it once was.
Its presence is increasingly relegated to a quick video clip of a blast furnace followed by the image of an overstuffed sandwich as an announcer welcomes viewers ‘to the Steel City’ when our favorite football team plays on national TV.
Steel has apparently outlived its usefulness here. Its likely demise barely garnering much attention on the evening news. Yes, the announcement by U.S. Steel got some coverage for a day but nothing compared to the hysterics presented following the recent dismissal of a popular and successful high school football coach.
Our priorities have changed.
Regional economies have evolved and expanded.
People forget what brought us here.
We, collectively, want to be known for clean, cutting-edge things like ‘Eds & Meds’ not dirty, gritty steel - even with its environmental milestones.
We still embrace and demand respect for the tough, blue-collar reputation earned off the backs of our parents and previous generations but after 146 years maybe our hearts just are not in the hard work anymore.
Maybe, similar to our cellphones, we are too busy staring at uniquely placed air quality monitors. In spite of upgrades (and closures hundreds of factories over the years) our region still gets an ‘F’ in air quality from the American Lung Association.
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State representative Austin Davis of the 35th district recently joined the KDKA Radio Morning Show to express his disappointment in the company’s decision to find greener pastures.
Rep. Davis echoes my concerns, stating that it is ‘a huge hit not just for the Mon Valley but the entire Pittsburgh region and our local economy.’ The 31-year old Democrat told us that he recently had a meeting with some folks at U.S. Steel and ‘asked about the ongoing project and they never indicated that they were considering scrapping it or that there were any concerns about the process.’ Those attending his meeting would not have known.
The decision was not made by anyone along route 837.
Listen to the full interview here:
Unfortunately, other leaders told The KDKA Radio Morning Show that they had not spoken with the company in a while. Some speculate that the company did not want to have the conversation. Maybe they have had enough talk and sparring over ever-tightening standards.
Divorce looks imminent.
Opportunities seem lost although Mr. Burritt says the company ‘remains committed to steelmaking in the Mon Valley.’
U.S. Steel says stalled permits and changing world views forced them to decide on following through with $1.5 billion in environmental upgrades to the Mon Valley Works or focusing efforts elsewhere. The steelmaker claims it applied for the permits to upgrade ’10 months prior to the onset of Covid-19.’ It’s now May 2021.
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The company recently purchased Big River Steel, which built a brand-new, technologically-advanced, LEED-certified mill in less time (14 months). Big River’s modern facilities in Arkansas use a cleaner process and don’t need to be upgraded again and again and again.
The final few thousand of good-paying, union steelworker jobs in Braddock, West Mifflin, and Clairton are not lost yet, but I fear it wont be long before the plants are permanently idled. A $4.6 billion chunk of the region’s economy lost.
Further environmental improvements will be attained when coke batteries 1, 2, and 3 in Clairton are silenced in 2023. Maybe they’ll eventually be replaced with new, cutting edge, green steel technology. Maybe they won’t.
The future is very uncertain for steel-making in our region. Just as it was in 1979.
Maybe I should take comfort knowing that, somewhere, Joe Magarac stands guard in an abandoned mill waiting to fire up the furnace once again.
Kevin Battle is Cohost of the KDKA Radio Morning Show with Larry Richert. The show airs 5a-9a on Pittsburgh’s 100.1FM & AM1020 KDKA and the Audacy app.