Permanent, not temporary: Republic Steel won't reopen in Canton

CANTON − Republic Steel's shutdown of mills in Ohio and New York ― originally announced as an indefinite "idle," ― is permanent.

An attorney with Tucker Ellis LLP in Cleveland told the Ohio Attorney General's Office on Sept. 22 about the Canton plant's permanent closure by email, which The Canton Repository obtained this week through a public records request. The attorney described the information as "confidential" but "critical" to share because of ongoing settlement negotiations in the state's air pollution case against the company.

Messages to the attorney and Republic Steel representatives were not returned. The company, a subsidiary of Mexican-based Grupo Simec, announced on Aug. 10 that steelmaking would be idled and about 500 total employees at its Canton and Lackawanna, New York, facilities would be furloughed.

Local and international union officers said Republic Steel notified them on Sept. 13 that the closure would be permanent. Bill Conner, with the United Steelworkers International Union, said it applied to all of Republic Steel's plants ― including Canton, Massillon and Lackawanna.

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Will Republic Steel union workers receive negotiated benefits?

It's unclear what will happen regarding employee shutdown benefits, health insurance and the company's other obligations under the five-year union contract signed earlier this year, said former Local 1200 President Todd Fitzgibbon.

“None of it’s resolved," he said. “It’s all still out there in limbo."

The United Steelworkers International Union imposed an administratorship and is acting on behalf of the local unions, which operated under the same master contract, Conner said. Local officers were relieved of their duties and the international union took control of financial accounts.

“We do that to protect the officers for any misappropriation of funds," he said.

Bargaining recently began with Republic Steel to discuss benefits, such as health insurance and severance and vacation pay. Conner said the company agreed to honor the union contract during negotiations, and that would include supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB pay).

“We’re currently in effects bargaining, and we’re not finished yet, but we’re trying to do everything we can to ensure that their pension and retiree health care and all that’s fully funded and taken care of," he said.

Conner said he's kept the local officers informed, but there's no real news to share until a settlement is reached, at which time it will "all be communicated" to local members.

Fitzgibbon, however, said there's been little communication about what the international union is asking of the company and an inability to use the local's former funds, including one designated for career development. Neither he nor Bryan Rice, former vice president of Local 1200, have received SUB pay from Republic Steel that they said they're entitled to.

“Some people are getting it, and some people ain’t,” Fitzgibbon said.

Fitzgibbon was hired by another company the day after Republic Steel's announcement. With a multitude of skills after more than 30 years in the steel industry, he said finding another job was easier for him than younger workers at Republic Steel.

He didn't know how many former employees found work but said that a job fair in late August coordinated by the local union, Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and Stark County Manufacturing Workforce Development Partnership was a success.

"A lot of people got at least interviews," Fitzgibbon said. "A lot of people got hired.”

Rice said Republic Steel employees were "collateral damage" of the way Grupo Simec ran the company and the politicians and governmental policies that allowed it to happen. He doesn't think there's anything that can be done now and plans to move on, hoping for the best.

"It's a sad situation. It really is," Rice said. "It's sad, 125-year history of the company down the drain, destroyed."

Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.comOn Twitter: @kbyerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Republic Steel shutdown is permanent in Canton, all locations