Keeping Work Flowing at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor

JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2015

Twenty miles southeast of Chicago, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor complex is the largest integrated steel producing facility in North America, covering more than 3,100 acres in East Chicago, Indiana. It operates five blast furnaces that transform iron ore, coke, limestone and scrap into high-quality, finished steel with a total raw steelmaking capability of 9.5 million tons annually.

Local 4 IN/KY represents over 100 full-time and temporary bricklayers at the east and west sides of the complex. They put in roughly 300,000 work-hours annually as employees of the steel giant’s 24-hour mason department. To highlight the important contributions of Local 4 members to this facility, the BAC Executive Board paid a visit to the plant to talk with members during a safety briefing. “The role of BAC refractory bricklayers is integral to steel production,” BAC President James Boland said. “The work our members do here is hugely important and key to keeping the whole work flow going and we are very proud of that.”

The Board also toured ArcelorMittal’s Global Research and Development Center, where state-of-the-art analytical testing of new products helps customers solve problems and create new applications.

At the entrance to ArcelorMittal’s Global Research and Development Center, front row from left, BAC Secretary-Treasurer Henry Kramer, Local 4 IN/KY President Ted Champ, BAC President James Boland, Local 4 IN/KY member Ernest Labas, Mittal Mason Department manager Jim Norris and Chief Steward Joe Ramos. Back row from left, IMI’s Indiana Director and Local 4 member Dave Collins, Local 4 IN/KY Field Representative Jeremy Rivas, Secretary-Treasurer Steve Knowles, Field Representative Bob Green, and BAC Executive Vice Presidents Tim Driscoll and Gerard Scarano.

The BAC Executive Board with Local 4 IN/KY members and officers and ArcelorMittal officials.