Crowd rallies for Steelworkers on the Iron Range

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith addresses the Steelworkers Solidarity rally held in the Mesabi Iron Range hub of Virginia, Minnesota, on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (PHOTO: via Tina Smith Facebook page)

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith addresses the Steelworkers Solidarity rally held in the Mesabi Iron Range hub of Virginia, Minnesota, on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (PHOTO: via Tina Smith Facebook page)

The United Steelworkers held a large rally in the Mesabi Iron Range city of Virginia, Minnesota, last night. The event was well attended by union members and citizens supportive of the union’s ongoing contract negotiations. A pricing and market collapse in iron and steel has caused U.S. Steel and Arcelor-Mittal to demand concessions from labor in negotiations going on in Pittsburgh now. The Steelworkers don’t want to roll back hard won wages and benefits for workers.

WDIO reported on the event, as did the Duluth News Tribune, Mesabi Daily News and others.

I wasn’t able to attend, but my personal social media feed was ablaze with impressive pictures of a large crowd marching down the streets of Virginia.

The one thing I’ll add is that this solidarity rally highlights a critical element of the iron mining industry struggles. These companies need to reduce costs and also innovate new products to survive. But if they do survive, once the price of iron ore stabilizes — as it’s expected to do once big international companies stop turning the screws — the industry will resume big profits. The role of workers, and their interests, are a key factor in the discussion.

If the goal was to demonstrate the ability mobilize and to lay a marker down for the negotiations ahead, the Steelworkers and their supporters achieved success with this event. This occasion will be roundly criticized by those who find unions unnecessary, but the problems in the industry aren’t based on labor — it’s based on a pricing crisis that soaks deep to the roots of the global economy.

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