Steel Mills
USW seeks clarity on plans for Granite City Works
Written by Kristen DiLandro
September 12, 2025
The United Steelworkers (USW) labor union said it is requesting that U.S. Steel elaborate on its plans for Granite City Works, following reports confirmed to be true by SMU that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility in southwest Illinois.
Requesting updates
USW District 7 Director Mike Millsap, who also chairs negotiations between U.S. Steel and the union, addressed news that the 124-year-old steelmaker was ending slab processing in Granite City.
“Though we have submitted a formal information request, we have yet to see anything in writing on U.S. Steel’s plan for Granite City Works,” Millsap stated.
He confirmed that USS told its members there would be no layoffs despite the mill’s slab supply ending in October.
“As we continue to push U.S. Steel for details on how this impacts our members, we intend to hold Nippon accountable to the promises it made over the past year and a half to secure its deal,” he added.
USS plans
U.S. Steel said it was shifting steel slab production and processing to its Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh and its Gary Works near Chicago.
Asked whether pickling and oiling, cold rolling, coating, or galvanizing lines would operate at the facility located near St. Louis, Mo., a USS spokesperson confirmed that none of those functions would operate at the facility.
“In November, they will not be processing steel, so those will not be operating,” stated a USS spokesperson.
USS said that “the facility will be maintained in case the situation changes.”
Granite City Works idled its ‘A’ blast furnace in April 2020 and ‘B’ in 2023. There is no update on whether the status of those idlings will change. The facility had annual raw steelmaking capacity of 2.8 million net tons.
Nippon Steel can not close, idle, or sell the Granite City mill before June 18, 2027, according to the terms of the partnership agreement approved by President Trump that allowed its acquisition of USS to go through.
Kristen DiLandro
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