WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. – This is one of the vice president’s few things Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump agree: against the sale of US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.
But the proposed deal shakes party loyalty in parts of western Pennsylvania, where some steelworkers feel they are being used as a political talking point.
“I’m pissed off,” said Chris Kelly, the mayor of West Mifflin, near Pittsburgh. “I believe everyone is being played as a pawn.”
Kelly, a Democrat, said at first he was skeptical that Nippon would buy US Steel, which operates plants in West Mifflin and surrounding communities known as Mon Valley. The company has been producing steel here since its foundation in 1901. It employs approximately 4,000 people in Pennsylvania, providing more than 11,000 indirect jobs and generating $3.6 billion in economic impact to the region.
During an interview in his garage — which doubles as his mayor’s office — Kelly said Nippon won him over by promising billions of dollars in investment.
“I’ve learned what the deal is about,” he said, adding that it would protect jobs and pensions. “I wish [national politicians] They were here today to talk to the actual union workers at the mill and the impact it would have on them if they stopped this contract in its tracks. This is very important.”
Kelly spends money on her party. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News President Joe Biden is set to formally announce that he will block the sale. The the news was published for the first time By The Washington Post.
A White House official said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has not sent a recommendation to Biden — the next step in the process.
Biden spoke out against the sale during a visit to Pittsburgh in April. Earlier this week, during a visit to the Steel City, Harris said he was against it, too.
“I couldn’t agree more with President Biden,” he said. “US Steel must remain American-owned and American-run, and I will always stand behind American steelmakers.”
Trump is also against the deal.
But US Steel CEO David Burritt warns that without Nippon’s investment, it would have to pull resources out of western Pennsylvania, potentially costing thousands of jobs in the region.
“We worry about our jobs all the time,” said union member Troy Stephenson, who has worked for US Steel for 27 years.
“Right now, with what we know, we feel Nippon is the better deal,” he said.
Still, union leadership claims the deal will benefit shareholders, not workers. David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers, said in an interview with NBC News that he does not believe the threats to pull USA Steel out of Pennsylvania.
“I think this is the most baseless, irresponsible threat and statement any CEO could make,” he said. “I take no pleasure in opposing this contract because it does not meet the needs of our members or our retirees, and it certainly does not meet the needs of national defense.”
McCall said the union’s main reason for opposing the detail is that it doesn’t meet the criteria of a collective bargaining agreement and that its members believe it could move some of Nippon’s assets out of the region to Arkansas.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., strongly opposed the sale.
“I’m calling bull—- US Steel executives,” he said written statement on Thursday. “As I have always said, I will follow and stand with the United Steelworkers against the shameless bosses looking for a golden parachute.”
The sale, and the prospect of its possible cancellation, is now deeply divisive in the region, pitting members of the same party and even the same union against each other on a key battleground.
West Mifflin Mayor Kelly said he was confused by both Harris and Trump.
“How could that be the only thing they agree on in the whole political race?” Kelly said. “Come to the place where people are affected. Don’t make this decision from Washington.”
Peter Alexander contributed.