Plenty of blame to go around

To the editor:

Within the next month, the Sammis Plant in Stratton will close, which employs approximately 350 workers. It has also been reported recently the Cleveland-Cliffs tin mill in Weirton plans on releasing 300 workers.

The reason for the releasing of workers — illegal dumping — of tin imports, dumping that’s coming from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom

If you are a former steelworker, you may remember illegal dumping during the Clinton administration — the U.S. steel industry was ruined and left in rubble by the time he left office.

So who is to blame for all of this? The federal government — the Department of Commerce — in its mission statement says “… the department works to drive U.S. economic competitiveness, strengthen domestic industry and spur the growth of quality jobs in all communities across the country. The department serves as the voice of business in the federal government and, at the same time, the department touches and serves every American every day.”

Gina Rainondo, the secretary of commerce, should have to answer why they are allowing illegal dumping.

The United Steelworkers: Cleveland Cliffs is union. The leadership of the union had to know about this illegal dumping and was silent about it. Why pay dues to a group that doesn’t have your interest? This also goes for the Sammis Plant — when searching under Sammis Plant union employees it came up that many are union employees.

Representatives in Congress: Our elected officials , we send them there to know what is going on in the state and take action quickly when other nations violate our laws, but apparently not, they all react like deer in the headlights, being completely surprised.

State government always is ready to retrain workers, spending taxpayer money to send them to vocational schools to look for a job that in most cases is half of what they made. Has anyone ever asked if they want to be retrained? They had to like their jobs to apply there. Why do they have to change their livelihoods?

Local government: You would think that being closest to the people that they would be going to anyone involved in these job losses and find answers and fight for their constituents. For myself, this is the most sickening of all.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but no one will pay for this, just the employees, their families and American people.

Merica Petrella

Steubenville