THE I.S.U. UPDATE

Union brother Marvin "Mel" Clifton was buried Tuesday, just a few days after a train accident near Number One Blast Furnace.
The 42-year-old Clifton was killed when the gondola car he was riding derailed.
Union President Mark Glyptis and the entire Executive Committee attended the funeral services for the veteran railroader.
"The outpouring of support from union members was really appreciated by Mel’s family," Mitch Sarap said.
"And we plan to continue helping the family by taking up a millwide collection during the next few days," Sarap declared.
"Anyone willing to donate to the Mel Clifton family can give their donation to their union steward or drop it off at the Union Hall," Sarap explained.
Glyptis said when someone is fatally injured in the mill, every union brother and sister is affected. The company has offered counseling to the employees involved in the accident and subsequent rescue attempts. Meanwhile union, company and OSHA investigators are reviewing the accident.

No Deal

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel officials announced all talks regarding a business venture with Weirton Steel have been called off.
Ironically I.S.U. President Mark Glyptis received the news first from the Wheeling-Pitt spokesman.
"The I.S.U. was not directly involved in the negotiations so it’s hard to say if a joint venture such as a merger or buy-out was a good deal," Glyptis explained.
"But it’s a shame the talks did not proceed to the point we could make such a decision," he added.
Meanwhile Glyptis said the union is still investigating the New York City investment firm, J.W.A. Investments, which recently bought 2.6 million shares of Weirton Steel common stock."This firm is not well-known on Wall Street and we’re still not sure who this firm represents. All we know at this point is this investment firm now owns about 6 percent of Weirton Steel common stock," Glyptis remarked.

No. 4 Blast Furnace

Work continues on Number Four blast furnace and the start-up date remains December 1st.
Company Executive Vice-President of Operations Craig Costello told Union President Mark Glyptis he is planning more and more emphasis in preparing No. 4 Blast Furnace for resumed operation.
Maintenance employees have found several structural problems that must be corrected before the startup date.

Multicraft School

The multicraft school for employees attending on company time has been delayed again due to a scheduled outage.
The multicraft classes are now scheduled to begin November 15.
A Company spokesman at the training facility said multicraft school for Maintenance Electricians should begin in early January.

Sinter Plant

Eight out of 38 eligible union employees attended information meetings on the Sinter Plant shutdown.
Union and Company representatives explained the severance pay packages for the eligible employees.
A Company manager said follow-up letters were sent to all 38 eligible employees and a final decision on accepting the severance package must be made by the end of October.

The United Steelworkers of America has followed the lead of the AFL-CIO and has endorsed vice-president Al Gore for the Democratic nomination for President.
In a letter to his USW members, President George Becker said he believes Al Gore will work with the steelworkers to preserve jobs.
Of course, this is the same Al Gore who stood in the lobby of the Millsop Community Center in 1992 and promised to enforce fair trade laws.
And this is the same Al Gore who has stood quietly while illegal foreign steel imports have flooded this country and forced thousands of American steelworkers into unemployment lines.
According to Union President Mark Glyptis, Republican Presidential contender, Pat Buchanan, remains the candidate of the union Executive Committee.
"We support Pat Buchanan whether he is a Republican Party candidate or a Reform party candidate. We like what Pat Buchanan says and stands for," Glyptis declared.

No Burt

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Richard Burt, has apparently backed away from a decision to meet ‘face to face’ with employee owners and has cancelled his October 26^th meeting.
The ‘Face to Face’ meeting had originally been promised by Burt during a September 30^th meeting with the Union Executive Committee.
Union officials were busy in recent days posting signs throughout the mill announcing the special meeting with the Chairman of the Board.
But Burt recently told Union President Mark Glyptis he was unable to meet on October 26 and preferred to further explore details of such a meeting.
"I am obviously disappointed by the cancellation of the meeting because I believe our union brothers and sisters have a lot of questions about the future of the company and what our long term strategies include," Glyptis said.
"Hopefully we can schedule a meeting with Chairman Burt in the near future." Glyptis said.

Manpower Numbers

As we go to press, there are 91 hourly union employees still listed as laid-off by the company’s manpower office.
Approximately 66 of those employees have not yet been contacted for recall. The remainder have been called but are listed as off sick, on workers compensation, or they have been granted an extension.
There are still 33 salary non-exempt union brothers and sisters on lay-off status.

Stand Up For Steel

The latest battle in the war against illegal foreign steel imports is now raging on the West Coast. Japanese tin producers are shipping record tonnage into this country, cutting into our customer base and hurting efforts to raise tin mill product prices.
I.S.U. President Mark Glyptis said the union is prepared to join the company in filing unfair trade suits against the Japanese tin producers.
"But we may stand alone in Weirton. The early signs are no other steel company may be willing to join us in this fight," Glyptis declared.
"But I can promise you this, we will continue our fight as long as we exist," he added.

Important Reminder