A new beginning for Wheeling-Pittsburgh
Two years and eight months after seeking government protection from its creditors, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week.
The announcement came just two days after unionized steelworkers approved a five-year contract that contained the kind of wage concessions Wheeling-Pitt claimed it needed to implement a badly needed restructuring plan.
That pact, approved by a more than 3-to-1 margin companywide, was ratified 194 to 65 by members of USW Local 1187 in Allenport.
Calling the contract's approval the "final, necessary piece of the puzzle," Wheeling-Pitt president and CEO James Bradley said the company can now claim a $250 million federally guaranteed loan package.
"With the labor agreement and new financing in place, the company is now ready to move forward," Bradley said. "We look to the future with pride, enthusiasm and determination. We're ready to put our new strategic plan into action."
Friday marked the second time in company history that Wheeling-Pitt has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company spent more than five years in bankruptcy protection between 1985 and 1990.
The new union contract calls for keeping wages at reduced levels until the end of May 2004, when raises will be instituted. The deal also includes buyout offers for 650 employees so the company can reduce its work force.
Union negotiators have said all buyouts likely will be accepted and management positions will be reduced by about 250. Wheeling-Pitt employs about 3,800 people in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including some 280 at the Allenport plant.
We commend the steelworkers for recognizing that the company needed help to survive and then agreeing to accept the kind of concessions needed to provide that help.
Now it's time for Bradley and his management team to do whatever is necessary to use the company's new-found financial condition to guarantee its future for generations to come.
We wish them well because the future of more than a few folks, including the families of the nearly 300 employees of the Allenport plant and the local businesses they help support, are depending on them.
