MAHONING VALLEY Union floods Bush with messages on steel tariffs

If the president's mind is made up, union leaders hope to change it.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- President Bush can expect to get more than a few voice mail and e-mail messages from Mahoning Valley steel workers this week, part of the last-ditch push to keep the steel tariffs in place.
Mike Rubicz, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 1375, said leaders asked members at a regular meeting Monday to flood the White House with voice mail and e-mail messages.
"I'm one of those people who believes you fight right to the end, and when you have a chance to put pressure on, you do it," Rubicz said.
Local 1375 represents 1,400 hourly workers at WCI Steel, as well as workers at the ISG Coke Plant in Warren, Bull Moose Tube in Masury, Sharon Tube in Niles and Brookfield and Heckett Multi-Serve, a subcontractor on the premises of WCI.
The Associated Press and The Washington Post reported Monday that Bush is on the verge of rolling back tariffs on foreign-made steel that were imposed in March 2002.
Bush had not yet announced a decision at press time today, but published reports say his advisers have recommended lifting the tariffs to avoid a global trade war. The European Union has threatened to retaliate unless the president eliminates the tariffs, which have been declared illegal by the World Trade Organization.
Still in a crisis
Rubicz argued that American steelmakers need the tariff protection as they recover from an industry crisis that has forced more than 40 steel companies into bankruptcy. WCI, the Mahoning Valley's largest steelmaker with 1,800 employees, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
"For him to remove the steel tariffs is a real slap in the face to the steel industry," he said. "He can't go soft now. This is not the time for him to back off and placate the European Union. He has to stick tight with these tariffs."
Rubicz said union members are asking their friends and family members to write or call the White House, urging the president to keep the tariffs in place for three years, as originally planned.
He said supporters can leave a voice mail at the White House by calling, toll free, (866) 203-4960, send an e-mail to: president@whitehouse.gov.
"We're making progress, but by removing the tariffs he's taking away some of the things that have helped us to weather the storm," Rubicz. "Another year, or year and a half when the tariffs would be up [and] we'd probably be in a lot better position. We know the tariffs were supposed to last for three years."
vinarsky@vindy.com