John Edwards to visit Pittsburgh, gain USW endorsement

[RiverStone]

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Former Sen. John Edwards is expected to start his Labor Day in Pittsburgh and leave with the endorsement of the United Steelworkers.

Mr. Edwards has courted the USW and other unions since the end of his 2004 vice presidential candidacy, which was publicly launched in Mellon Square, just blocks from the Mellon Arena site of the Monday rally where the former North Carolina senator will speak before the start of the Labor Day parade.

Neither the Edwards campaign nor the USW responded to inquiries about the planned announcement, which still must be formally confirmed in a conference of the USW's executive committee.

The former senator is to speak at 9 a.m. before heading to Iowa, site of the opening caucuses of the 2008 presidential battle.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07243/813598-176.stm

[WCGreen]

1. Havng already earned the Carpenters endorsement...

If JE receives the Steel Workers, he has a whole bunch of feet on the ground to help out in the primaries...

[robinlynne]

2. Are there steelworkers in Pittsburgh?

[ohio2007]

3. no

the mills still functioning in the rustbelt of Ohio are all that are left

pittsburgh sux ! ( NFL humor for those who don't know the meaning of rivalry )

[blue neen]

5. Sunday, Sept. 9. Steelers vs. Browns.

Are you ready to rumble?

:toast:

[ohio2007]

15. wrong time of year for the rivaly imo

a late November mudbowl is the way to play it ! Nov. 11th second matchup at Heinze is what I'll look forward to

[AZ Criminal JD]

6. Don't know much about the steel industry do you?

There are major mills, employing tens of thousands, in NW Indiana right outside of Chicago. There are mills here in Alabama as well as Ohio. The Steelworkers Union has about 700,000 members at the present time.

[robinlynne]

7. grew up in Pittsburgh. watched the steel mills close one by one. Then watched them

tearing down the buildings and build a "new city". We cried as those mills were torn down. Does that answer your question?

[robinlynne]

8. Don't know much about Pittsburgh, do you?

[tabasco]

9. What is the miscommunication here?

The poster stated that the steel mills are now on the Great Lakes and Alabama. That is correct.

As I understand it, the mills moved from Pittsburgh to the Great Lakes because of the cheaper transportation of iron ore, i.e., no need to transport by rail from the Lakes to the Burgh. Simple economics.

I believe the Alabama mills are closer to iron ore quarries as well.

[AZ Criminal JD]

13. I know a lot about Pittsburgh

I used to go to Five Gateway Center frequently for contract negotiations when I was the Chairman of one of the Steelworker's locals in the Chicago area. If you check the post I was replying to the Ohio poster not to you.

[ohio2007]

14. your pretty green when it comes to the steel industry and history

Many many mills have been closed due to foreign dumping three decades ago. I bet yours in 'bama will never make the union wages of $35-40/hr that were lost in the rust belt between the Cuyahoga and Ohio river valleys.
This area was the birthplace of modern US steel.Now there is only a grave marker called "Steel Valley Commons"
One mill left in Cleveland and the rest have been torn down and turned into a Wal- Mart parking lot.

The open mills are foreign owned.

[AZ Criminal JD]

16. I'm a Steelworker not green in any way

You don't have to tell me Ohio is a dump, I drove through it many times on the way to Pittsburgh. Your post implied there were no more steelworkers and that is just not true. You are right -- many of the mills are foreign owned but they are paying union wages to thousands of Amereican employees. Yes I know some are non-union but I am talking about the mills who have traditionally been represented by the Steelworkers Union. Last time I looked U.S. Steel is still a major employer in the Chicago - NW Indiana area and they aren't foreign owned.

[livetohike]

10. Here we go Steelers! Here we go!

:-)

See you next Sunday.

[RamboLiberal]

23. There are still a couple of mills in Pittsburgh area

Edgar Thompson, Irvin Works, Clairton Coke Works and some speciality steel.

[blue neen]

4. There are not nearly as many steelworkers in the city of Pittsburgh, but they're still a major force

in western PA and surrounding areas of metro Pittsburgh. Steel plants continue to be the major employers in some towns in this area.

Western PA is still union-strong.

[livetohike]

11. My Dad's (RIP) mill is still going strong

E.T. in Braddock :-)

[robinlynne]

17. glad to hear it! Every time a mill closed, an entire area of our city was

slowly abandoned as all the businesses in teh enighborhood shut down, then people would be forced to move away for lack of work, healthcare, and everything else which makes a neighborhood a neighborhood.

[JVS]

21. The funny thing is that Braddock kept its mill and it turned into a bigger shithole than...

either Homestead or Duquesne.

[globalvillage]

19. My mom and dad both worked at ET

Loooong time ago.

[RamboLiberal]

22. The mill my late dad worked at Irvin Works is still going too

in West Mifflin near Pittsburgh. ET supplies the steel to then that they then roll in to sheet metal.

[yasmina27]

20. The steelworker legacy is strong

my dad, who passed almost 2 years ago, was a steelworker, and I still proudly vote for their endorsed candidates!

[JVS]

12. Yes. The USS Edgar Thomson plant is in Pittsburgh

[Fierce]

18. I'm glad to see the trades supporting Edwards.

He gets it. He's earned their support.