The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Business

March 3, 2010

Former labor leader to steel union: Pay up

By Michael Roknick

It�s been nearly five months since the United Steelworkers were given more than $50,000 on behalf of former Sharon Steel Corp. employees, and a former labor leader at the steelmaker has a plea to the union: cough up the dough.

�Let�s get a decision on this and get it done before we lose more of our members to death and before it gets even harder to find them,�� said Gene Bianco.

It was partly due to the efforts of Bianco that the union got the funds. As the last president of the main USW local at Sharon Steel, Bianco attended bankruptcy court hearings last summer urging that former employees and retirees get a slice of long-lost steelmaker funds that were discovered.

Attorneys for the defunct company and its creditors relented and agreed to give the union $52,447 out of nearly $600,000 that was discovered sitting in various accounts for more than a decade. The remainder of the funds went to unpaid attorneys fees stemming from the steelmaker�s bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Judge Warren W. Bentz approved the deal and since then the USW has been sitting on the funds. Bianco said he�s been kept apprised of ongoing phone conferences among USW leaders and its attorneys on what to do with the money but no decision is at hand.

One idea kicked around, Bianco said, was to directly hand over the money to former Sharon Steel union workers. But when considering there are conservatively 3,000 former workers and retirees, that would mean an individual would get less than $18 � provided they all could be found and none of the money was eaten up in administrative expenses.

Another idea tossed around was using the funds to stage a local wellness clinic for former employees and retirees to get a free medical checkup. That suggestion gets a thumbs down from Bianco.

�I don�t think doctors need the money,�� he said. �If they want to give the money directly back to the members I�m fine with that. But if they can�t find the people and don�t know what to do with the money then why not give it to the retirees club?��

The Sharon Steel Retirees Club is a local group composed of former Sharon Steel union workers and typically meets monthly. The club hosts numerous events such as lunches and bus trips.

A call to the USW�s legal department for comment went unreturned.

Sharon Steel had numerous owners and filed for its first Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 1987 when it was controlled by financier Victor Posner. Shortly after its main Farrell steel plant was sold to New York investment firm Castle Harlan Inc. as part of that bankruptcy reorganization, the mill entered its second bankruptcy in November 1992 and the plant closed later that month.

During its final days, Sharon Steel employed 2,700 employees, making it Mercer County�s largest employer. Sold a couple times since the second bankruptcy, the plant now operates as Duferco Farrell Corp., which is not involved with the ongoing case.

�I just want to get this resolved,�� Bianco said.

Text Only
Business
  • Women business owners can seek free counsel

    The Athena program of Mercer/Lawrence County invites local women business owners in Mercer County to apply for the opportunity to receive one year of free business counsel.

    February 10, 2012

  • Authority OKs change order for temporary work

    Hermitage Municipal Authority begrudgingly approved paying more than $7,000 to move electric lines that will soon be abandoned.

    February 2, 2012

  • indianapolis.jpg Indy draws on super effort to overcome skeptics

    Leaders of Indiana's capital city spent years gussying up their downtown to prepare for Super Bowl XLVI -- by building big sports and convention venues and luring nice hotels, popular restaurants and a four-story shopping mall.

    January 31, 2012 1 Photo

  • Despite new construction, building slumps in city

    Although it’s hard to compare dollar values from today and even a few years ago, it’s safe to say there was not much new development in Hermitage in 2011.

    January 31, 2012

  • Distinguished service award going to Hudson

    On Feb. 2, Thiel College will recognize 10 faculty and staff members and John M. Hudson at the college’s annual Founders’ Day convocation in the Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center.

    January 27, 2012

  • Contractors, workers eye CHOICE housing jobs

    There are no guarantees that Shenango Valley residents will be among the workers who build a 34-unit apartment complex and 10 homes in Farrell, but an open house Wednesday gave them a chance to lay the groundwork to be considered.

    January 26, 2012

  • FNB: 2011 earnings up 16%

    FNB Corp. reported its fourth quarter earnings edge down slightly from a year ago but the results were due to a one-time credit a year ago of nearly $7 million. For all of 2011 earnings for the company were up 16 percent from 2010.

    January 24, 2012

  • Retiring Reichard feted for service to Penn-Northwest

    For more than a quarter of a century, Larry Reichard was the voice and spirit of Penn-Northwest Development Corp.

    January 20, 2012

  • GE receives order for 43 more locomotives

    GE Transportation on Tuesday said it signed a deal to sell 43 locomotives to Transnet SOC Ltd., South Africa, which will benefit its Grove City plant.

    January 11, 2012

  • City planners prefer new facade for Chipotle

    A month after calling the proposed Chipotle Mexican Grill building “ugly,” Hermitage Planning Commission Chairman Charles E. Rogers was much more reserved in his comments about a revised facade.

    January 10, 2012