Severstal workers start returning to jobs

By DON SHILLING

shilling@vindy.com

WARREN

Nearly half of the workers who had been laid off from Severstal Warren are back on the job.

About 500 workers are preparing the steel mill for a restart in about two weeks, said Gary Steinbeck, a staff representative for the United Steelworkers of America.

More union workers probably will be recalled, but the number will depend on how much of the mill is restarted, he said.

Bette Kovach, a company spokeswoman, said Severstal hasn’t announced how many workers will be recalled. About 1,050 union workers had been laid off before the recalls started.

Kovach said the steelmaker also hasn’t set a specific date for restarting the blast furnace, which will be the first part of the mill to go into operation. It will be on or about March 15, she said.

She wasn’t sure how quickly other parts of the mill would go into operation after the blast furnace begins producing molten iron.

Severstal announced in January that it would restart operations in mid-March because of an increase in demand.

It said it would restart the blast furnace and hot- rolling mill, but the cold-rolling mill would remain idle for now.

The blast furnace was shut down in October 2008 for maintenance and never restarted because of a decline in the economy. Other parts of the mill were closed in early 2009.

Kovach said much has to be done in advance of producing steel again, including ordering materials and training workers who have been off the job for a year or more.

“There are a whole series of steps we need to take as a business to come up efficiently,” she said.

As those preparations continue, union officials and Severstal executives are continuing to bargain a new contract.

The last contract expired more than a year ago but has been extended.

Steinbeck said the two sides are making progress, but he did not want to be specific.