Hennepin Plant to Close

By Kevin Robinson in News on May 20, 2009 5:20PM

A federal arbitrator dealt what may be the final blow to United Steelworkers Local 7367. The steelworkers' union had argued that ArcelorMittal Steel USA had committed to keeping its Hennepin, IL plant open until 2012, as long as it was productive and profitable. The arbitrator ruled that ArcelorMittal could close the plant permanently. The union had been fighting to reopen the plant, or get ArcelorMittal to agree to sell it to someone who would.

Hennepin steelworkers have been trying to keep the plant, which employs three hundred people in Putnam County, open. Those job losses have contributed to the 14 percent unemployment rate in the county, the highest in the state. "The company's position has always been that they have the right to close the plant whenever they want to," said union local Vice President Duane Calbow. Calbow said that the union will continue to seek a buyer that will keep the plant running. This "doesn't change our opinion that the company did commit to the Hennepin plant," he said, "and it doesn't deter us from seeking potential buyers who would reopen the plant and let our people get back to work."