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Show I B9 The Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, Janua. y 31, 19W No planes. No ships. No tanks. No cars. No roads. No rails. No jobs. No income. No marketplace. America's most basic industry is dying and nobody but us seems to care. Are we to depend on the Japanese, the Koreans, the Brazilians, the Europeans to defend our country? Without steel; there is no national defense. Without steel, there is no American commerce. Without steel; there is no American standard of living. Gloomy? You bet. But that's where we're headed. America is fast losing its capacity to make steel. We're also losing our ability to make products that use steel cars, appliances, building materials and on and on. Not far behind, we can lose our edge in high technology. That leaves a service economy, and a service economy can't survive on its own. It's time to draw the line. Before the first industrial domino falls. Foreign producers, helped by government supports and subsidies, are floods ing the American market with underpriced products underpriced steel and underpriced goods made with steel. The crisis in the American steel industry has cost 250, 000 steelworkers their jobs since 1980. Fewer than half have been able to find new jobs. Those who have are receiving far lower wages, benefits and security. Meanwhile, those workers remaining in the industry have made enormous sacrifices since 1983. Wage sacrifices alone have totalled nearly $1.4 billion. Fully 75 of economic and productivity cost reductions in the steel industry since 1983 are directly attributable to labor. The man-hour- s required to produce a ton of steel are now lower in the United States than in any country in the world. But the subsidized imports are still gaining ground and Americans are still suffering. The experience of the past few years demonstrates clearly that steelworkers alone cannot save the American steel industry. That's why we have agreed to an early opening in contract negotiations as a means to bring other essential parties into the collective bargaining process. Simply put, these other parties must be prepared to make a contribution if we are to save the steel industry. Among them: The Banks must demonstrate the same flexibility in helping solve the domestic industry's mounting debt problems that they have shown in restructuring loans to Third World steel producers. The Steel Companies must make a commitment to Americas future. Such deals as U.S. Steels joint venture with Koreas Pohang Iron and Steel Company would lend to AiCiz imports, not less. Why should workers make sacrifices if their jobs have been publicly slated for export? The Administration must vigorously enforce Voluntary Restraint Agreements negotiated with other countries as part of its announced goal to hold imports to 18.5 of the U.S. market for finished steel and 1.7 million d steel. tons of Federal and State Governments, which for too long have watched the roads, bridges, water systems and other arteries of commerce within this country go to pieces, must commit to a major effort to rebuild our nation's infrastructure a commitment comparable to a domestic Marshall Plan.'' This can be done 25 Hr even in todays economy, and must be done JST to ensure America's ability to compete. v v Its now or never. steel-produci- ng t steel-produci- semi-finishe- v4u .-- United Steelworkers of America Five Gateway Center Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Lynn Williams, President 1 TV 5kv Ol li-C1- 0 ng |
