Pittsburgh Business Times reported that Mr John Surma chairman & CEO of United States Steel Corporation and Mr Leo Gerard International President of the United Steelworkers discussed the relationship between labor and management within a global economy.
It's the shared fundamental belief in American manufacturing that connect the bosses of United States Steel Corporation and the United Steelworkers, and it’s this commonality that has allowed the two men to find agreement and work through the difficult challenges the steel industry has faced over the past decade.
Mr John Surma chairman & CEO of US Steel and Mr Leo Gerard International President of the United Steelworkers discussed this relationship that has developed between union and company top brass at a discussion hosted by the Community College of Allegheny County.
The relationship was tested earlier in the decade as a wave of bankruptcies hit the industry, and Mr Gerard noted that had it not been for an alliance between the company and the union to fight for domestic steel, he is unsure if the industry would have been saved.
The relationship was tested again in 2008 when seemingly overnight the bottom fell out of the market. Half of the company's business was gone in a few short months, and the company had to take drastic moves.
Mr Surma said that "We had 10,000 people on layoff, and I didn’t get a good night sleep for two years."
When asked by an audience member how other labor groups and management organizations can create this sort of relationship, Mr Surma told the crowd of union members, community members and students, when we do our work, you don't read about it. The two talk candidly out of the spotlight and work gets done.
Much of the collegial discussion focused on the close relationship between Mr Surma and Mr Gerard the two shared frequent friendly barbs and the ability of the two sides to have what Mr Gerard called a mature, multi level relationship, meaning that despite difficulties, discussions can be held and solutions found.
Mr Gerard also frequently noted that the troubles related to the recession were not the fault of the union or the company, but the result of a Wall Street system that doesn't value manufacturing but instead pushes a services based economy. Both Mr Surma and Mr Gerard said that manufacturing is needed to actually generate wealth in an economy.
Working within a global economy, the two agreed that together they can push the policies needed to strengthen the American manufacturing base.
Mr Gerard said that "The union by itself will get attention and probably get listened to, but will not be heard. If we (industry and labor) go together, not only do we get listened to, we get heard."
Like most discussions of manufacturing policy, Surma highlighted three areas that need to be addressed:
1. Companies must transform themselves and get competitive
2. The government must pursue a strong national manufacturing agenda, which includes enforcing trade laws and crafting sensible energy policies
3. And the next generation of workers needs education that emphasizes technical skills
During a question and answer session, Mr William Cagney, with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95, asked how the development of Marcellus Shale can be used to bolster manufacturing in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Mr Surma highlighted that US Steel is the largest manufacturer of tubular steel products used in the process and that the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, of which he is chairman of the board, is exploring how to link manufacturing and shale development.
Mr Surma said that in addition, there are talks of creating an ethane cracker, a plant that converts ethane found in natural gas into ethylene used to make plastic. He added that "That begets other manufacturing."
(Sourced from www.bizjournals.com)
