'Gut punch': Trump clashes with PA steelworkers over $14.9 billion sale

05 December 2024

Pennsylvania showed how much of a swing state it is when — after favoring Joe Biden in the 2020 election — it chose Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris four years later, but only by roughly 1.7 percent. And the state's 2024 U.S. Senate race was another nailbiter, with incumbent Democratic three-term Sen. Bob Casey Jr. narrowly losing to Republican Dave McCormick.

Now, President-elect Trump is engaged in a major debate in Pennsylvania, where he is vowing to block the $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese company: Nippon Steele.

In a Monday, December 2 post on his Truth Social outlet, Trump wrote, "Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!"

But according to Newsweek reporter Sophie Clark, many steelworkers in Pennsylvania want the sale to go through.

"In the Pittsburgh area, where U.S. Steel employs about 3500 people, the company's sale to Nippon has proved popular," Clark reports in an article published on December 4. "Following Trump's statement, Jason Zugai, the vice president of the United Steelworkers Local 2227 branch in West Mifflin, southeast of Pittsburgh, said: 'For me, yeah, very frustrated with the news that came out last night. I didn't expect that to come out, so that was like a gut punch.'"

Clark continues, "Those pushing for the deal point to Nippon's pledge to, per The Guardian, 'invest no less than $2.7 billion into its unionized facilities, introduce our world-class technological innovation, and secure union jobs so that American steelworkers at U.S. Steel can manufacture the most advanced steel products for American customers.'"

Some Pennsylvania steelworkers, however, share Trump's opposition to the sale.

Interviewed by WTAE-TV Channel 4 (an ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh), United Steelworkers President David McCall said of Nippon Steel, "I don't trust them. And more than that, the fact that they're spending billions — or millions and millions of dollars in PR campaigns, as opposed to answering the needs of our members, concerns us a lot."

McCall added, "I think U.S. Steel in the Pittsburgh area, I think it's an economic engine. Everybody understands that — certainly, good-paying, family-supportive jobs, thousands of them. And so, it's important that we maintain steel, steelmaking here in the Mon Valley."

Read Newsweek's full article at this link.

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