Baltimore Business Journal reported that Baltimore County is establishing a program to retrain workers at RG Steel’s shuttered steel mill in Sparrows Point.
County Executive Mr Kevin Kamenetz said that the new Baltimore County Steelworkers Career Program will provide skills training to the plant's approximately 2,000 workers, including helping them earn professional certificates. The training is funded by a USD 420,000 US Department of Labor grant.
He added that "While we continue the fight to hold onto the long tradition of steelmaking in Baltimore County, I also want to make sure that we are doing all that we can to help the steelworkers during this very challenging time."
The Sparrows Point steel mill failed to attract bids from other steelmakers at an auction on August 8th 2012. The winning bid of USD 72 million came from Hilco Trading LLC, a liquidation firm, throwing the plant's long term future into question. The current owner, RG Steel LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection on May 31st 2012.
Baltimore County has filed an objection on August 8th 2012 in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, preserving the county's right to contest the terms of the plant's sale. The Bankruptcy Court will hold a hearing on August 15th 2012 on whether to approve the mill's sale to Hilco.
Meanwhile, Mr Kamenetz and union officials vowed to try to find a buyer who would continue to operate the mill.
Mr Joe Rosel president of United Steelworkers International Local 9477 said that "We have been making steel here for 120 years and we are not giving up. We are still going to fight to find an operator for this plant."
Mr Kamenetz said that "We remain hopeful that a buyer will emerge for these core assets and that Baltimore County's tradition of steelmaking continues for years to come. All of us in Baltimore County continue to stand and fight with our steelworkers. This is far from over."
Meanwhile, the county has created a 17 member task force charged with finding new ways to grow the economy in Sparrows Point, with or without RG Steel as its main economic engine.
Source - Baltimore Business Journal
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