TORONTO – The United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomes Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to hold Cleveland-Cliffs accountable for its legal obligations to Canadian workers and is calling on the federal government to follow through with action to protect jobs and Canada’s steelmaking capacity.
Cleveland-Cliffs has announced the indefinite idling of steelmaker Stelco’s cold-rolled and coated operations in Hamilton, where roughly 350 USW members are expected to be laid off, while another 40 layoffs are expected at Stelco’s Lake Erie operations in Nanticoke, Ont.
The USW has written Industry Minister Mélanie Joly seeking an emergency meeting and an immediate compliance review of the binding commitments Cleveland-Cliffs made under the Investment Canada Act when its acquisition of Stelco was approved by the federal government.
“We welcome the Prime Minister’s position that Cleveland-Cliffs must be held accountable,” said USW National Director Marty Warren.
“Now the government must act, decisively. These commitments were part of the price of approval, and workers need to see them enforced – aggressively and without delay,” Warren said.
The union says Cleveland-Cliffs must also answer serious questions about its production and investment decisions, including whether work that could be done in Canada is being done in the United States. The company is citing the U.S. trade war to justify the layoffs, even though CEO Lourenco Goncalves has publicly said he pushed the Trump administration to impose higher tariffs on Canada and helped influence the increase to 50%.
“Cleveland-Cliffs cannot champion those tariffs and then invoke them to walk away from commitments to Canadian workers,” Warren said.
The USW says the Stelco crisis also reflects decades of trade policy that have left Canadian producers exposed to unfair trade, excess global capacity and overreliance on the U.S. market.
“Workers are paying the price for a trade system that has failed to protect Canadian industrial capacity for far too long,” said Kevon Stewart, USW Director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
“The government has taken some important steps, but it needs to go further: tighten the steel tariff-rate quotas, close loopholes that allow U.S. imports to displace Canadian steel and provide emergency supports to keep workers attached to their jobs,” he said.
USW Local 1005 in Hamilton and Local 8782 at Stelco’s Lake Erie Works are calling for urgent action to protect workers and production.
“We have seen what happens when foreign owners are allowed to cut Canadian jobs and capacity,” said USW Local 1005 President Ron Wells. “This government says Cleveland-Cliffs will be held accountable. Our members expect it to keep that promise.”
The USW is calling on Ottawa to enforce Cleveland-Cliffs’ commitments, provide emergency worker-retention and wage supports, strengthen protection of the Canadian steel market and tie any public support to Canadian jobs, production and investment.
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