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The United Steelworkers union says  the "veil of secrecy" for bankrupt U.S. Steel Canada's mills in Hamilton and Nanticoke must be lifted immediately to protect the interests of thousands of workers and pensioners.
"There are 39 potential bidders out there, but U.S. Steel doesn't want anybody to know anything about it," said Gary Howe, president of USW Local 1005 in Hamilton.
"This isn't a private transaction just to benefit U.S. Steel. It's a bankruptcy protection case, a court process that affects thousands. Those who are directly affected – our community, our members and our pensioners – deserve a fair, open and transparent process. It's their jobs and their pensions that are at risk," Howe said.
A court monitor overseeing U.S. Steel Canada's bankruptcy protection case announced earlier this month that multiple parties have expressed interest in buying all or part of the company's Canadian assets.
U.S. Steel Canada, the former Stelco Inc., sought protection under the  Companies Creditors' Arrangement Act in early 2014 after piling up more than $2.4 billion in losses since the 2009 recession.
Its parent, Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp., bought Stelco  in 2007 for $1.1 billion, but it continued to lose money because of slumping markets and a massive pension liability that put the steel producer in the red.
Any potential buyer of the company faces a pension liability the company estimates as high as $1 billion. There's a good chance a buyer might press for pension relief from the Ontario government before going ahead with any deal.
The company shut down its blast furnace in Hamilton in 2010 but still operates coke ovens in Hamilton and two finishing mills that process steel shipped from its modern mill on the shore of Lake Erie. It has about 2,000 workers in its Canadian operations.
Under the bankruptcy process, the company was put up for sale earlier this year in a secret process the union is fighting.
The union is seeking a court order to gain access to the bidders and to related documents, including the letters of intent submitted by the bidders.
The union also is asking the court to prevent U.S. Steel from exercising undue control and gaining an unfair advantage in the sale and restructuring process.
"We're saying, 'no more secret deals.' We want to meet with the bidders and we want to meet with them immediately," said Bill Ferguson, president of USW Local 8782 in Nanticoke. "We've been trying to move things forward, but U.S. Steel still is holding up the process."
USW Ontario director Marty Warren said: "We know there are potential bidders who are looking at U.S. Steel properties and we are hearing concerns that some of these bidders are very frustrated with the process and they might just walk away."
The union said U.S. Steel Canada wants to wait until it has received and assessed final offers before making information public to the USW, non-union workers and pensioners and the provincial government.
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Steelworkers want U.S. Steel sale details made public

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