pa1778data.pdf

U.S. STEEL DUQUESNE WORKS
HAER No, PA-115
(Page 45)
million in start-up and operating costs over the first three
years if it cut its labor force by 3 0 percent. According to the
study, the mill could become 'super competitive' if $150 million
were raised to build a continuous caster.
Armed with the favorable results of the Locker/Abrecht study,
the coalition pressed for a second postponement of demolition
while a final feasibility study was conducted by Lazard Freres &
Company of New York. In response, USS Chairman David M. Roderick
agreed, in a meeting with the County Commissioners and U.S.
Representative Joseph M. Gaydos, to delay demolition until the
corporation had thoroughly reviewed the Locker/Abrecht report and
until further discussions were held with the commissioners.
Doubting the chairman's word, members of Local Union #1256
maintained an around-the-clock watch of the plant's main gates to
make sure that the company did not surreptitiously attempt to put
a demolition crew into the mill.
As the final study was prepared, Tri-State concentrated it
efforts on gathering support for the establishment of a Steel
Valley Authority in each of the communities along the Monongahela
and Turtle Creek valleys. Organized along the lines of a public
authority, the Steel Valley Authority had the power of eminent
domain under state law. This allowed it to acquire the land,
buildings, and machinery of existing plants for economic
development. Its establishment in communities like Duquesne
provided the legal mechanism by which funds from private lending
institutions could be procured to purchase and reopen closed
industrial facilities.
Although Tri-State's effort resulted in the creation of a
Steel Valley Authority in nine municipalities, the effort to save
the Duquesne Works from permanent shutdown failed. The failure
was caused by two factors. First, city officials in Duquesne,
skeptical of the "save the mill" campaign from the start, and
anxious to establish an industrial park on the former mill site,
rejected all efforts to establish a local Steel Valley Authority.
Second, and more importantly, the findings of the Lazard Freres
study in January of 1986 proved irreconcilable with the
coalition's efforts. According to the report, the mill could
become competitive only if it installed a continuous caster.
Following the Lazard Freres study, the total cost of
rehabilitating the works would be in excess of $300 million. One
prominent USWA official commented after reading the report that
even if the employees worked for free, the mill could not make
money. As a result, the coalition abandoned its effort, and
Dorothy Six was demolished in August of 1988. A few days later,
the corporation transferred ownership of the rest of the mill
site to the Allegheny County Department of Development which