Union leaders to ‘stay the course’ despite Shapiro’s claim that 1,300 Cleveland Cliffs jobs saved

Last week, Channel 11 told you about the fight to save jobs at Cleveland Cliffs Butler Works. Union leaders said the plant could be idled if a proposed regulation change went into effect through the Department of Energy.

This week, Gov. Josh Shapiro declared that’s no longer happening, but union leaders said the fight isn’t over.

“We saved over 1,000 jobs — union jobs — at that Cleveland Cliffs facility,” Shapiro told a crowd in Butler Wednesday afternoon, reassuring local labor workers that their jobs were safe, despite a proposed Department of Energy rule change that would result in amorphous steel being used in transformers instead of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES), which is only made in Butler County.

But local lawmakers and union leaders say not so fast.

Thursday morning, Rep. Mike Kelly, who is hosting a town hall meeting next week on the matter, sent Channel 11 this statement:

“I appreciate Governor Shapiro’s bipartisan support of our years-long effort to save the Butler Works plant and 1,300 family-sustaining jobs in Butler County. But let’s be clear: the Department of Energy has not formally repealed this rule. Right now, the rule has not changed. I am still planning to hold my April 1 town hall in Butler to send a very clear to the Department of Energy – this rule must be fixed and these jobs must be saved.”

Union leaders said the same.

“We haven’t had any other confirmation of that from our sources in Washington D.C. – DOE or through any of the senators’ or representatives’ offices,” said Jamie Sychak, president of Local 3303 Butler.

Governor Shapiro sent a letter to the Department of Energy earlier this month expressing his concerns for the rule change. His spokesperson sent us the following statement:

“The Governor is laser focused on protecting Pennsylvania jobs – and his optimism is a result of engaging directly with the federal government and their public statements that, after hearing feedback from a range of stakeholders, changes have been made to the proposed rule,” said Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesperson.

But union leaders said until they directly receive notification from the Department of Energy that the rule is repealed, they plan to stay the course.

“We’ve been at this for about 14 months now. We’re not going to give up now,” Sychak said. “We’re going to continue to fight until the fight is over.”

As of Thursday morning, Kelly’s town hall is still on for Monday, April 1. It will be held at 6 p.m. on the campus of Butler County Community College.

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