‘A rug that’s being pulled out from under you’: Worker speaks out after layoffs at ArcelorMittal

At the Steelworkers Union hall on Barton Street East, the local representing workers laid off at ArcelorMittal says it’s trying to get the best deal it can for its members.

“I believe they’re taking it hard,” Mike Hnatjuk, President of United Steelworkers Local 5328 said.

“I believe that it’s going to be a big culture change. You’re going from a job up and around the $35/hour range to what’s out there. What’s out there? Are there any $35/hour jobs out there any more?”

The job board doesn’t have many postings offering a steelworker’s salary. And for steelworkers like Harry Sachs, the announcement of 153 layoffs by ArcelorMittal is the end of a career dream.

“I was young, I was 30 when I started,” Sachs told CHCH News.

“I assumed I could put in 30 more [years] and retire happily, but now that’s gone.”

Harry was actually laid off in April, but was hoping to be called back until the latest round of layoffs.

“It’s a burden, and it’s not just me,” he said.

“There’s other people that worked steady 20, 30 years and what do they do now? I know people who had one year before they got full pension, and what do they do next? I don’t know.”

Harry has moved in with family to save money and is planning to go to school. But he worries that older workers might not be able to adapt to change and new technology.

He’s also upset with the way ArcelorMittal delivered the layoff news.

“I know some guys that came in off from the night shift at 7 a.m., they went home, they went to bed, and their wives woke them up to tell them that the plant was closing,” Sachs said.

“They didn’t get a call from the company right away, they had to find out from the news.”

These layoffs are affecting over 150 workers at ArcelorMittal in Hamilton. The union says a lot of the blame belongs with the federal government for allowing cheap steel to come to Canada from China.

Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer says more than eight per cent of the steel imported into Canada last year came from China.

The government has imposed a 25 per cent surtax on Chinese steel imports. But the MEPS steel market analyst says “declining prices in China are normally a catalyst for negative price pressure in other markets.”

“A lot of what’s happening here is not just tariff-related,” Hnatjuk says.

“This is the government allowing steel to come into our country from other countries where we can’t compete.”

Even so, Harry Sachs says he’s confident in Hamilton’s future as Canada’s steeltown.

“It’s an identity,” he said.

“We’re always going to be a steeltown. When you drive into the city you’re always going to see the steel mills. Whether or not we’re in great shape right now, who knows what the future holds.”

READ MORE: 153 workers to be let go as ArcelorMittal closes Hamilton wire mill