Yesterday I spoke in front of approximately 300 US Steel workers and supporters to give insight on what a three billion dollar investment deal would mean to the Mon Valley, and specifically my neighborhood. I also spoke about what a decrease in investment in the neighborhood cost and it’s about more than jobs. People are afraid of the proposed Nippon and US Steel Deal because US Steel is an American Company and Nippon Steel is a Japanese Company. And even though this Japanese Company is the 4th largest steel producer in the world and US Steel is 27th and combining would make them 2nd in the world, many oppose it. Politicians have zoned in on this particular issue and this particular place sometimes without even stepping foot in the Mon Valley not knowing the ramifications of their words for the communities that they affect.

I know that the union and the US Steel have a lot to work out but if this deal with Nippon folds or is federally blocked we are gambling with more than peoples’ jobs we’re gambling with an ecosystem that’s already so very fragile and wouldn’t survive another blow to the local Mon Valley economy. I don’t know if politicians are even thinking about the people at stake, beyond not wanting to be an ally and only wanting to be the biggest American Company.

It’s easy for higher-ups in Washington to speak about their opposition to the sale and America first but where is Washington regarding the Blight, economic turmoil, and desperation in my neighborhood? Speaking from experience it’s hard to think globally when there’s so much in my own backyard working against us. Politicians can argue about global allyship being threatening. That’s not my concern. My concern is Braddock PA. Yes, Mon Valley residents are described as resilient but people shouldn’t need to be resilient when they should be thriving not just surviving.

After touring Nippon’s WV plant that they acquired from Standard Steel and seeing the before and after, talking to the small town, and the workers who were older and younger (they didn’t think they would ever get into steel) I see that although a foreign company, Nippon can create a partnership with US Steel that would make my town a part of a global steel powerhouse with a promise of less emission and greener steel. This isn’t the only United States-based Nippon plant as they already have two. It makes no sense. Why settle for just being the biggest in America when you could be one of the biggest in the world? The former Standard Steel Workers who are now WV Nippon workers were frank about how Nippon is a part of their community, building baseball fields, and planning their community days.

If this deal doesn’t work out and the next offer is so low, with no investment, and the next company that offers to purchase it, will just take the pieces of US Steel that they want, I fear my US Steel plant won’t survive. I call it my plant because when elected officials first got invited to the table my concern was the pollution and when Nippon said that they would hold themselves to Japanese standards I was intrigued and hoping we could put that in writing as green steel and community stewardship can coexist. I’ve had my qualms with US Steel in the past when they wanted to frack and I fought against them but I also stand with them when it’s right.

A Mon Valley with no US Steel might not mean much to most elected officials but without this investment several already poor communities lose more than the biggest tax-paying company in their boroughs, they lose the opportunities and relationships that US Steel has built. You lose the chance to bridge a finance gap for a borough leaving Act 47 and needing a new roof, you lose a play space for kids to play at after school instead of running the streets getting into trouble, you lose the thousands of dollars a year that US Steel pours in these communities for playgrounds, Christmas Parties and food.

US Steel has an opportunity to be better and the only reason that we’re saying no is because it’s a foreign company when a few days ago some of the same elected officials were praising a one billion dollar investment means this isn’t about the who is purchasing US Steel it’s about egos. People are out here politicizing our poverty in the Mon Valley and I urge people before they make up their minds about this potential acquisition to take a walk through my neighborhood and think of this very moment when we had the opportunity to make global history. Years later we’ll look back at a missed opportunity because of our inability to be open to other cultures. You have a company not just promising investment in these plants but investments in the people and I know I’m going to get so many people claiming that my take is a bold statement to make but I know that you can be pro-union, partnership, and progressive as I just know that the next offer won’t be a one billion dollar investment, less emissions, and partnerships.