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Show U.S. Steel policies rob local economy With his controversial study "De-Steeling: The Fall of U.S. Steel and Implications for Utah,' Dr. Warner Woodworth has documented what many Geneva Steel workers have been saying for a long time -- that U.S. Steel management appears to be operating the plant in such a manner that it can justify closing it down. And the steel company's response to the study does not provide much encouragement that current management policies are going to make any changes. According to the study, Geneva Steel needs to change, or it won't survive. However according to U.S. Steel, the plant is not going the change. The conclusion to that scenario is logical -and tragic. It is, according to Woodworth, "economically disastrous and morally bankrupt." Woodworth's study is well documented, and demonstrates just how closely the local economy is tied to the steel plant. Utah Valley loses over $5 million annually for every 100 workers laid off at Geneva. The state as a whole loses $6.5 million. . .. A few minutes with a calculator and the figures of the layoffs over the past few years show that the county has already paid dearly for U.S. Steel's management policies of the recent past. If the plant continues its current decline to a shutdown, shut-down, the impact on the local economy will be devastating. And yet, that is what Woodworth foresees unless steps are taken to modernize the plant. Despite lay-offs and outmoded equipment, Geneva continues to make a profit for U.S. Steel - but that is a trend that will decline if the necessary capital in-; in-; vestment is not put back into the Utah County plant, .i Unfortunately, the general response to Woodworth's ' report has been the standard non-denial denial, and U.S. ; Steel officials have attacked the bearers of the bad news rather than address the serious issues brought up in the report. They have called the report's authors publicity seekers in an attempt to discredit them and thereby .' dismiss their findings. That's convenient for a large company -- and consistent con-sistent with the corporate mentality which refuses to admit problems that are obvious to the men involved in I the day-to-day operation of Geneva Steel. Rather than avoiding the report altogether by throwing stones at its authors, U.S. Steel should address the issues identified in "De-steeling," before it is too late for the 2,400 workers whose income still depends on ; the Geneva plant. |