Pending sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel draws mixed reactions in Mon Valley - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Pending sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel draws mixed reactions in Mon Valley - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Alaska Airlines flight attendants picket ahead of pending strike vote - Alaska's News Source

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - While holiday travelers bustled through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Tuesday afternoon, dozens of flight attendants for Alaska Airlines assembled at the head of the departures level to voice their frustration over current contract negotiations.

The demonstration was just one of eight at major airports nationwide.

Thresia Raynor, the Anchorage-based Council 30 mobilization chair for the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), said negotiations stalled back in September.

“Management has come to the table with an offer that is just not economically viable for us,” Raynor said.

The demonstration started approximately one hour after the union announced that would now move forward with a vote to strike that will open in early January.

According to Raynor, many flight attendants are struggling to pay their bills while others have resorted to picking up a second job to make ends meet. She said holding a picket line is an important step in getting the public’s attention to bring awareness to their situation.

“Our company, one of the most important things to them along with profits is public image, and for them to understand that the public supports us in having a living wage is instrumental,” Raynor said.

During the picket, many drivers dropping off people at the airport honked in solidarity — including a few airport shuttle drivers.

Dozens of flight attendants walk the picket line outside the departure level of Ted Stevens International Airport, as people drop off passengers to catch their flights.(AKNS)

Raynor said the last time the union met with Alaska Airlines leaders to negotiate, the company came to the table with a 9% increase — an increase she said is not good enough.

“The flight attendants you see out here today — they have gas bills sitting on the kitchen counter they can’t pay, eviction notices on their door,” Raynor said.

One flight attendant picketing told Alaska’s News Source that her take-home pay for one month of work was around $1,800.

In a written online statement, the airline said it would “respect their protected right to engage in these activities and do not expect any disruption to our operation or service as a result”, and that it remains “committed to reaching an agreement on a new competitive contract that fairly compensates flight attendants and continues to provide significant flexibility, but also maintains an emphasis on productivity that is critical to the sustainability of the company’s business model.”

The statement further said that it provided an updated offer to the union workers that “included an immediate 15% increase to the wage scale, market rate adjustments” and that the offer was “the largest we’ve made in our history for our flight attendants’ contract.”

The inability to agree on the terms of a new contract comes on the heels of Alaska Airlines announcing its purchase of Hawaiian Airlines earlier this month for $1.9 billion.

Raynor said the organized protest and the announcement of the strike authorization vote are not directly related to the acquisition, but it was salt in an already open wound.

“When they are saying it’s not economically viable to give us an industry-leading contract, but they’re willing to come with $2 billion in cash to buy another carrier, of course that hurts,” Raynor said.

Alaska Airlines maintains that the acquisition does not impact its interest in reaching an agreement with its flight attendants and that it does “not expect any disruption” to the airline’s operation due to the authorization of a strike vote.

According to a press release issued by AFA Tuesday, nearly 6,800 strike vote ballots will be sent to flight attendants. That vote will open on Jan. 8 and close on Feb. 13.

Copyright 2023 KTUU. All rights reserved.

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Alaska Airlines flight attendants picket ahead of pending strike vote - Alaska's News Source
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LEAP pipeline development to stop pending results of water study - wlfi.com

The Lafayette City Council has voted unanimously to oppose the LEAP project

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — After a meeting last week between Governor Eric Holcomb, Senate President Pro Tempore Rod Bray, House Speaker Todd Huston, and local business and government leaders, the State of Indiana has committed to ceasing all action on the development of the LEAP pipeline until the results of a major water study by the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) are known.

According to a released statement from Greater Lafayette Commerce, the local leaders met at the Purdue Airport for a meeting that included Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, West Lafayette Mayor Elect Erin Easter, Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh, Greater Lafayette Commerce (GLC) Board Chair Rachel Hazaray, GLC President Scott Walker, Purdue University Trustee Gary Lehman, and representatives from Purdue University President Mung Chiang’s office.

In the meeting, Speaker Huston and President Pro Tem Bray made assurances that no action would be taken to advance a water project before the study is completed. The IFA expects the study to be done in the the fall of 2024.

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said, “We appreciate our State leaders coming to our region and talking through the issues that concern us and our local constituents. We are committed to keeping the public informed about the process.”

Greater Lafayette Commerce Board Chair Rachel Hazaray said. “Tippecanoe County has a long history of supporting economic development and constructive bipartisan partnerships between government leaders, businesses, and citizens to resolve concerns and support our communities. To have the Governor, the Speaker, and the Senate President come to Greater Lafayette to respond to our concerns and commit to a thoughtful evaluation of the issues we raised lays the groundwork for the continuation of our longstanding positive relationship.”

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LEAP pipeline development to stop pending results of water study - wlfi.com
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Granite City union president has mixed emotions after Japanese company's pending acquisition of U.S. Steel - KSDK.com

The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and is targeted to close in the second or third quarter of 2024.

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — It's a mix of emotions in the Metro East after a Japanese steelmaker acquired U.S. Steel for billions of dollars.    

U.S. Steel, a Pittsburgh steel producer, is being acquired by Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steelmaker, in an all-cash deal valued at about $14 billion.

In a new release, U.S. Steel said this combines world-leading technologies and manufacturing capabilities to better serve customers in the United States and globally. It continued by saying it strengthens a diversified and competitive steel industry in the United States to the benefit of customers through investment collaboration between two global steel innovators.

The deal honors all collective bargaining agreements with the United Steelworkers Union. The statement read, "This is part of a commitment to maintaining strong stakeholder relations."

Dan Simmons, president of United Steelworkers Local 1899, was taken aback by a new deal moving forward.

"The union was informed this morning about the acquisition sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon. My first reaction is disappointment," Simmons told a room of reporters.  "I had my concerns because I haven't heard word from Nippon and knowing what their direction is and their operation business plan for the acquisition including Granite City Works."

U.S. Steel will keep its name and headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Simmons admitted he was worried about the continued involvement of U.S. Steel.

"We know U.S. Steel's operation plan was for Granite City, it wasn't positive," he added. 

In September, U.S. Steel temporarily idled furnace B in a move it called "risk mitigation" in response to the United Auto Workers strike. At the end of November, U.S. Steel's operational plan in Granite City was to idle steel-making indefinitely.

Simmons said, "The right decision would be to fire those furnaces back up and make steel again because prices are very good."

Simmons was looking forward to a new owner, specifically Cleveland Cliffs. 

"We have history with them and they are good labor partners, they embrace the union," Simmons said.

But Nippon gave nearly double what was offered just four months ago by Cleveland Cliffs.

While Nippon's deal is about the future, Simmons was looking at the past.

"The optimistic side of this is that Nippon was a part of a joint venture back many years ago with National Steel when I was an employee then and they were a good partner to have," he added. 

U. S. Steel acquired the assets of the former National Steel Corp. in 2003. 

Yet, he still worries about his union workers.

"They are mostly concerned with the same questions we have, especially the members who have been laid off. They want to know what does this mean for them, if they continue layoffs, I don't have those answers because I am not having any meetings with them," Simmons added. 

Simmons believes while there are still unknowns, a new deal could be a new chapter.

"We'll look to see if this partnership with Nippon is a good partner. I'm hoping they look at this differently with the same vision we have," he said. "I welcome a face-to-face opportunity to see what we can offer here in Granite City specifically."

The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and is targeted to close in the second or third quarter of 2024. It still needs approval from U.S. Steel shareholders.

There was already a scheduled union meeting Thursday, prior to the announcement. Simmons expects it to be packed.  

Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson said he learned Monday morning about the acquisition. 

He admitted, there was still a lot of uncertainty and questions. 

Parkinson said, "Talk is cheap, do they have the capital to honor all those collective bargaining? I haven’t communicated with them and it makes you suspect of them not being forthcoming."

The United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall issued a statement slamming the announced deal:

“To say we’re disappointed in the announced deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon is an understatement, as it demonstrates the same greedy, shortsighted attitude that has guided U.S. Steel for far too long.

“We remained open throughout this process to working with U.S. Steel to keep this iconic American company domestically owned and operated, but instead it chose to push aside the concerns of its dedicated workforce and sell to a foreign-owned company.

“Neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon reached out to our union regarding the deal, which is in itself a violation of our partnership agreement that requires U.S. Steel to notify us of a change in control or business conditions.

“Based on this alone, the USW does not believe that Nippon understands the full breadth of the obligations of all our agreements, and we do not know whether it has the capacity to live up to our existing contract. This includes not just the day-to-day commitments of our labor agreement, but also significant obligations to fund pension and retiree insurance benefits that are the most extensive in the domestic steel industry.

“Our union intends to exercise the full measure of our agreements to ensure that whatever happens next with U.S. Steel, we protect the good, family-sustaining jobs we bargained. We also will strongly urge government regulators to carefully scrutinize this acquisition and determine if the proposed transaction serves the national security interests of the United States and benefits workers.

“No union has actively engaged in more acquisitions in its core industries than the USW, and rest assured, our union will hold management at U.S. Steel accountable to every letter of our collective bargaining and other existing agreements.”

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Granite City union president has mixed emotions after Japanese company's pending acquisition of U.S. Steel - KSDK.com
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WTVP denied public broadcasting funding pending investigation - 25 News Now

PEORIA (WMBD Radio) - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is withholding grant money from Peoria public tv station WTVP, pending review of its legal and financial woes.

CPB Spokesperson Brendan Daly says they’ve referred WTVP to the Office of Inspector General.

“CPB calculated but will not release WTVP’s FY 2024 Community Service Grants until we can learn more about the issues and determine whether proper controls are in place to ensure sound stewardship of CSG funds,” Daly says in a statement to WMBD Radio News.

Last year, community service grants from the CPB accounted for about a fourth of WTVP’s revenue. In November, the station asked for an interim release of that funding, while waiting on an audit.

Results of a CPB investigation of WTVP’s finances would be released to the public once completed. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Peoria Police are also investigating.

Earlier this week, WTVP for the first time acknowledged former president and CEO Lesley Matuszak and former finance director Lin McLaughlin approved “questionable, improper, or unauthorized” spending.

Earlier this fall, the station’s board was forced to cut its budget by 30-percent and lay off nine people. Publication of Peoria magazine was also put on hold.

On Monday, WTVP Board Chair Andrew Rand told WMBD Radio News that any rumors of the station being dissolved were “categorically false.”

WTVP and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are continuing to communicate and work closely together.

We will provide whatever is needed to secure grant funding for WTVP

Copyright 2023 WMBD Radio, newspartner to WTVP. All rights reserved.

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WTVP denied public broadcasting funding pending investigation - 25 News Now
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WTVP denied public broadcasting funding pending investigation - 25 News Now

PEORIA (WMBD Radio) - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is withholding grant money from Peoria public tv station WTVP, pending review of its legal and financial woes.

CPB Spokesperson Brendan Daly says they’ve referred WTVP to the Office of Inspector General.

“CPB calculated but will not release WTVP’s FY 2024 Community Service Grants until we can learn more about the issues and determine whether proper controls are in place to ensure sound stewardship of CSG funds,” Daly says in a statement to WMBD Radio News.

Last year, community service grants from the CPB accounted for about a fourth of WTVP’s revenue. In November, the station asked for an interim release of that funding, while waiting on an audit.

Results of a CPB investigation of WTVP’s finances would be released to the public once completed. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Peoria Police are also investigating.

Earlier this week, WTVP for the first time acknowledged former president and CEO Lesley Matuszak and former finance director Lin McLaughlin approved “questionable, improper, or unauthorized” spending.

Earlier this fall, the station’s board was forced to cut its budget by 30-percent and lay off nine people. Publication of Peoria magazine was also put on hold.

On Monday, WTVP Board Chair Andrew Rand told WMBD Radio News that any rumors of the station being dissolved were “categorically false.”

WTVP and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are continuing to communicate and work closely together.

We will provide whatever is needed to secure grant funding for WTVP

Copyright 2023 WMBD Radio, newspartner to WTVP. All rights reserved.

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WTVP denied public broadcasting funding pending investigation - 25 News Now
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DNT expansion north could start in the spring, pending NTTA vote - The Dallas Morning News

The Dallas North Tollway project to extend the road north from U.S. 380 to the Grayson County line might start in the spring, if the North Texas Tollway Authority gives a nod of approval during its Dec. 20 board meeting.

Michael Rey, media relations manager for NTTA, said if approved, work for the Phase 4 Corridor Project will begin in the spring of 2024.

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According to records filed with the state, the NTTA funded roadway project is expected to cost $183 million.

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Rey said the 13.7 miles of roadway will include construction of a six-lane urban tollway with three lanes in each direction.

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Phase 4A, about 6 miles, will begin at U.S. 380 to Farm-to-Market 428; Phase 4B, about 7.7 miles, will go from FM 428 to the Grayson County line.

Construction began on the DNT Extension into Prosper and Celina in Feb. 2020 and opened to traffic in March.

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Related:Dallas North Tollway expansion continues as sprawl surges north

Celina Mayor Ryan Tubbs said the project will have a significant impact on the residents of Celina.

“The expanding infrastructure will improve accessibility to and from Celina, fostering economic growth and mobility for residents and visitors,” Tubbs said.

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Tubbs said the extension of the DNT into Prosper and Celina will make travel for residents, businesses and emergency services more efficient, which is especially crucial for the new Methodist Celina Medical Center, which is slated to open in 2025.

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“Improved mobility will enhance patient care by reducing travel times for ambulances and other emergency vehicles, as well as facilitating easier access for staff, patients and visitors,” Tubbs said.

The mayor said the roadway will also attract more residents and businesses to Celina due to the improved connectivity.

“This will increase the population, further job creation, and overall be a huge economic driver guiding growth for our city,” Tubbs said.

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Celina — with 97% growth in the past three years — is one of the fastest growing cities in Collin County, which is expected to double in population by the year 2060.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named the funding source for the project, which is funded by NTTA.

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DNT expansion north could start in the spring, pending NTTA vote - The Dallas Morning News
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