[ninenot]

NuCor is a success--but here's a question: are they organized by the USW?

USSteel, Bethlehem, Wheeling-Pittsburgh, et.al, were union shops--not bad in and of itself--but the union contracts for benefits, work rules, and retirement were extremely expensive.

IN COMBINATION with the enviro-regs which required the old-line companies to spend zillions on remediation and upgrades, the old-liners were dead men walking.

[LS]

Yep. You hit one of the nails on the head. You can't have ultra-high union benefits that aren't competitive with real-world prices and hope to sell steel.