:: rawblogXport ::

:: Sunday, December 21, 2003 ::

Would-be Rouge buyers gather for auction By Sarah Karush, AP
The winner must reach a collective bargaining agreement with the United Auto Workers, which represents most of Rouge's 2,600 employees.

Severstal already has been negotiating with the UAW. It filed a notice with the Wilmington court on Wednesday saying it had reached an agreement in principle with the union. No details were given.

The union said earlier it supports Severstal's bid because the Russian company intends to keep the steel-making facility fully operational. U.S. Steel is believed to have an interest primarily in Rouge's finishing assets.

Collecting steel stories a labor of love By Virginia Terhune
Andre Anderson, a member of United Steelworkers of America, worked in a Bethlehem Steel blast furnace at Sparrows Point until the company went bankrupt. He now works for ISG, which bought the plant.

Ed Bartee Sr., an African-American retiree from Bethlehem Steel, recounts his efforts to integrate the bathrooms at the Sparrows Point plant after World War II.

Edie Papadakis talks about her first day as the only woman in the all-male maintenance department at the mill.

Their memories, both good and bad, form part of a collection of videotaped interviews now preserved on the Internet, thanks to the efforts of a Dundalk college instructor.

'I've always been fascinated by oral histories and the stories people tell about their experiences,' said Bill Barry, director of the labor studies program at the Community College of Baltimore County-Dundalk.

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