SHELBY, Ohio — Some 450 United Steelworkers members at the ArcelorMittal Tubular Products plant here have been on strike since Jan. 13 fighting demands by the company to limit health care for workers’ spouses and change their work schedule in ways that would disrupt their lives.
Striking steelworkers and their supporters marched from the union hall through the town to the plant March 13 where they held a rally.
Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, spoke at the rally. “As a third-generation steelworker, I can assure you the Ohio AFL-CIO has your back.
“Who are the ones who make this place go?” Burga asked the strikers. “We do!” they shouted back. “We are the ones that create the wealth,” Burga responded. ArcelorMittal, the second largest steel company worldwide, reported a net profit of $2.33 billion in 2024.
“We had 70 to 80 people turn out yesterday in a tremendous show of solidarity,” USW Local 3057 member Josh Sengstock told the Militant the next day. He is a picket captain and a grievance representative on the job.
“We already work seven days a week, eight hours a day,” Sengstock said. “But the company is demanding a 12-hour workday with no guarantee of how many days we would have to work.” The bosses are also insisting on starting overtime pay after 40 hours a week, instead of after eight hours a day.
“Spouses would be required to accept whatever their employers offer as their primary insurance,” Sengstock said.
Messages of solidarity and donations can be sent to USW Local 3057, P.O. Box 6, Shelby, OH 44875 or sent to uswlocal3057shelby@gmail.com.