Posted on 11/20/2001 7:56:04 PM PST by free from tyranny
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 20 -- Bankrupt LTV Corp., Cleveland, will shutter its integrated steel operations and prepare the facilities for sale after filing motions Tuesday in U.S. bankruptcy court to begin the idling process.
LTV said the motions were made to implement an asset protection plan, reject labor agreements and take other actions related to the closing of its steelmaking operations.
At the same time, Pittsburgh-based LTV Copperweld, comprised of certain subsidiaries of LTV Corp., including Copperweld Corp., Welded Tube Co. of America and the LTV Steel Tubular Division, will not be affected by Tuesday's actions, LTV said. LTV Copperweld is currently trying to obtain separate financing and will continue to operate and supply its customers with tubular and bimetallic products.
William H. Bricker, chairman and chief executive officer of LTV Corp., said the company's management and employees did everything in their power to save LTV Steel.
"It has been clear since last year that the integrated steel unit needed to reduce wage and benefit costs to compete with non-union mini-mills and foreign competitors, which together now control over half of the (U.S.) steel marketplace," Bricker said.
"Continued deterioration of the economy forced the company to again seek direct wage and benefit reductions in order to qualify for $250 million of government guaranteed loans. The company was not able to obtain sufficient reductions.
"After so many months of commitment and hard work by all parties, it is very disappointing to find our road to success blocked at this critical time.
LTV, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 29, informed its corporate and integrated steel employees that wage, salary and benefit programs would continue for about two weeks until the asset protection plan is approved by the court.
In addition to the motion to implement the asset protection plan and reject the current labor agreement, LTV filed motions to approve:
A committee of salaried retirees to act as representatives for the modification of retiree benefits under section 1114 of the bankruptcy code. Sale procedures for the Cleveland and Indiana Harbor Works. Expedited hearings on the asset protection plan, section 1114 committee, and plant auction procedure motions. Hearings on the matters are expected to occur early next month.
The steelmaker recently asked its lenders to extend a multimillion-dollar loan that expires in June in a move intended to improve the company's chances of landing a $215.5 million federal guarantee--85-percent of $250 million in new loans from KeyBank and National City Bank. Since seeking Chapter 11 protection, LTV relied on a $682 million loan from a consortium of banks. The steelmaker repaid $200 million, but $100 million more is due Dec. 31. The company must pay off the entire balance by June 30.
LTV is one of 23 steel companies in North America currently in bankruptcy. Twenty-six steel companies have filed for Chapter 11 protection from 1997 to the present. Three companies have since emerged with one ceasing operations.
Metals USA just stuck LTV with $5,000,000 in bad debt as they just declared bacruptcy. What is happening to the steel industry can and will and is happening to an industry near you. And it will continue to worsen. But until, the countless less meaningful jobs in the service sector(read luxuries for lazy Americans)begin to disappear and the once affordable junk from Target and Walmart becomes out of reach to the many, only then will the annointed policy makers from D.C. realize that the deflationary spiral we are in is really a black hole. And nothing escapes the black hole, not cheap money, cheap imports, cheap fuel or greed. Gordon Gecko was wrong! Greed is not good.
not necessarily, steel has had 3 problems for decades --
a) overpaid union thugs
b) government over-regulation (cheered on by the union thugs and the demorats they support, until it bit them in the butt)
c) foreign steel subsidies
to which i say, good riddance to more overpaid union jobs, deregulate, and as long as foreign governments want to throw money at us via subsidies, let them, they'll get tired of it eventually
countless less meaningful jobs in the service sector(read luxuries for lazy Americans)begin to disappear
this is an inaccurate description of the "service sector", and you can't, just as willie green tried and couldn't on other threads, dispute the constantly rising standard of living over the last 30 years across all income levels while manufacturing jobs were steadily disappearing
will the annointed policy makers from D.C. realize that the deflationary spiral we are in is really a black hole. And nothing escapes the black hole, not cheap money, cheap imports, cheap fuel
a correct statement, deflation is here even though few are aware of it, and it ain't going away anytime soon
however, deflation isn't caused by "greed" or the steel industy's problems
Gordon Gecko was wrong! Greed is not good
"greed" is good, without everyone pursuing their self-interest, you have no economic efficiency at all, and you wind up with a soviet-style economy that serves nobody well
i agree that many industries are going to have very serious problems for many different reasons, primarily the general slowdown that is likely to get much worse, but not the same ones that plague steel
which will likely to lead to a decade of falling standards of living across the board, but again not because of the loss of steel or any other manufacturing jobs
at this point, we are better off with fewer manufacturing jobs, manufacturing is always hit early and hard in any recession, and has now seen 13 consecutive months of declining output
with 1970s levels of manufacturing here, we would already have been in an official recession for 3 or 4 quarters, instead of being in the middle of quarter number 2
This is an inaccurate description of the "service sector", and you can't, just as willie green tried and couldn't on other threads, dispute the constantly rising standard of living over the last 30 years across all income levels while manufacturing jobs were steadily disappearing.
Funny thing ....during the same 30 years educational standards amongst our population have been falling. It is morally repugnant and economically dangerous that we abandon our manufacturing and pursue the "cleaner" occupations.
What is occurring in the Middle East is a blue print for every other corrupt and incorrigable regime we cater to to support our insatiable desire for cheaper and cheaper goods.
The "Thugs" are the regimes who use the Clintoonian method of triangulation to appease their workers( read damn yankee imperialists ) and keep their exports( read cheap goods to USA ) moving.
Gordon Gecko was wrong! Greed is not good
"greed" is good, without everyone pursuing their self-interest, you have no economic efficiency at all, and you wind up with a soviet-style economy that serves nobody well
Well, there is a difference self interest is different from aa insatiable appeptite for money and power.While they are really different points on the same line they are as different in degree as the temperature of Mercury and Pluto. The Nasdaq and NYSE excesses exposed how far we have moved away from a healthy self intersest toward greed.
What have we really saved by buying products that have consumed steel a below cost prices? An overvalued stock market bubble that has burst and an overvalued real estate market bubble that is about to burst.
If you like the first act in Japanese, you will love the next act in English.
U.S. Export-Import Bank Wants to Invest in Foreign Steel Production
true, and this is the single thing that most threatens future standards of living. uneducatedand unskilled morons will no longer be protected and saved by union extortionists
It is morally repugnant and economically dangerous that we abandon our manufacturing and pursue the "cleaner" occupations
morally repugnant? hardly, it's economic reality and inexorable as capital seeks profitable uses
and, "we" aren't abandoning anything, decisions are made by thousands of individual owners and investors, and have nothing to do with how "clean" a business is
Well, there is a difference self interest is different from aa insatiable appeptite for money and power.... The Nasdaq and NYSE excesses exposed how far we have moved away from a healthy self intersest toward greed
which only means that people act stupidly at times
markets are about mass psychology, and always get overdone on both the upside and downside, and always will unless the laws of human nature are repealed
stupidly pursued self-interest results in lessons learned and a return to reality
What have we really saved by buying products that have consumed steel a below cost prices?
obviously, the amount of the foreign subsidies, and we should thank the foreign idiots for continuing to throw money into their bottomless subsidy pits
an overvalued real estate market bubble that is about to burst
on this we agree, the party in real estate has ended and the next few years will be grim
If you like the first act in Japanese, you will love the next act in English.
exactly, and i doubt that greenspan has a clue yet, even after 10 futile cuts
As usual, you contradict yourself.
You hide behind some kind of fanatical anti-union "thug" facade to conceal your personal disdain for anybody who works in skilled blue collar professions.
Your persistant denial of facts doesn't alter the truth that the shift to a "service economy" has been gradually lowering the standard of living for the average American for decades.
merely repeating your garbage, as you have just done again, doesn't make it true
your silly contention that "the shift to a service economy has been gradually lowering the standard of living for the average American for decades" has been THOROUGHLY disproved starting on this thread and continuing here and REMAINS UNANSWERED by you because there is no answer to FACTS
now, despite what you may erroneously think is contradictory, my statement that the NEXT 10 years look grim has nothing to do with the LAST 30 YEARS of rising standards of living across the board
get it? LAST 30 years and NEXT 10 years refer to two DIFFERENT time periods
try reading a little more carefully next time before you embarrass yourself again
as for union thugs, do you really want to get into the long, sorry history of communist/socialist influence on unions?
or the long, sorry history of organized criminal influence on unions, some of which continues to this day?
do you really want to get into the facts about how unions continue to try to maintain their ability to extort from all of us through contributions to their fellow thugs, the democrats?
your precious unions have been slowly self-destructing for the last 50 years, and they will continue to do so until their share of private sector employement approaches zero
your assumption of my "personal disdain for anybody who works in skilled blue collar professions" is mistaken
union leadership is almost universally thuggish, they have to be to continue to play their extortion game
and, unfortunately, some of their members blindly follow their thuggish leaders -- don adams is but one example of that long and violent history
but, my condemnation is of the organizations and leadership, not the bulk of the members, and union members who actually have skills will do fine with or without their thuggish leaders
A totally uninformed perspective that neglects the massive diversion of capital required for compliance with Government mandated environmental regulations. These affect not only the direct cost of domestic steel production but also the mining of raw materials, ore and coal. Foreign sources do not comply with similar regulations. It is a direct result of our governments policy that the domestic steel industry is suffering and jeopardizing our national security.
LTV is slime. They poured money like water of losing projects after getting concessions from everyone and now they are paying the price. Darwinian rules. This has nothing to do with offshore competition and everything to do with plain corporate stupidity.
Actually, I'm quite neutral and objective with regard to labor unions. They are neither inherently "good" nor "evil". Like corporations, they are merely artificial entities that represent the economic interests of their members or "owners".
That some highly publicized instances of union corruption can be cited is no reason to distort the actual function of unions within our economy and society. Similar corruption can be cited for any organization: private corporations, federal government, state governments, local governments... That doesn't prove that any of these organizations (incuding unions) are inherently evil.
But I would like to thank-you for your rant. You have displayed, better than I could, what a bitterly biased individual you truly are.
Is that so(definitely not the case)!
U.S.steel operations are responsibly transforming massive amounts of physical matter daily, monthly, yearly in a economic environment which is more closely related to Las Vegas.This type of investment climate shuns industries that consume capital at exponential rates and then offer returns like that of a leaky faucet. The value of the steel industry is not just in the numbers and not just in national defense. Producing steel is a collabrative effort that all consumers need to be cognizant of and responsible to. Allowing the U.S. Steel Industry to die has more to do with the growing impatience and irresponsiblity that is a product of the moral decay in our society than about an unprofitable industry.
Professional sports, foriegn aid and government are just a few money pits that come to mind when thinking about poorly performing investments.
Actually, I'm quite neutral and objective with regard to labor unions. They are neither inherently "good" nor "evil"
forced unionism and dues are creatures of the depression-era 1935 national labor relations act and its many amendments, and unions are input factor monopsonies, not unlike monopolies and oligopolies from the production side of the fence
like monopolies and oligopolies, monopsonies are not inherently evil, but all usually wind up doing mischief, and unions have been making major mischief for over 60 years
unions are the realized, but rapidly fading, dream of socialists, communists, trotskyites, "progressives" and their ilk, and were it not for the statutes on the books, unions wouldn't exist, and shouldn't, they serve only to distort the labor market
nobody who knows the facts about unions and their conduct can reasonably be "neutral" about unions if they are also "objective"
That some highly publicized instances of union corruption can be cited is no reason to distort the actual function of unions within our economy and society
"some"? bwhahahahaha, you're a funny guy
let's see -- dave beck, jimmy hoffa, frank fitzsimmons, jackie presser, arthur coia, ron cary, richard trumka, nicky scarfo, joe talarico, fred devine, tom waters, the list goes on and on and on, despite decades of federal, state and local attempts to clean them up (for HUNDREDS of additional names, see the links below)
the "function of unions within our economy" is to extort overpayment from employers and to extort dues from members to continue buying influence with politicians to protect their ability to continue to extort employers
if they actually had a legitimate function or served a legimate purpose, the level of unionization would have been rising for the last 40 years, not falling precipitously
Similar corruption can be cited for any organization: private corporations, federal government, state governments, local governments
a truism -- human foibles are everywhere -- but not terribly enlightening
what you're trying to skate past is that the levels are not remotely close to being similar, not by a country mile
the only entities even close to the extreme level of union corruption would be third-world banana republic and other assorted dictators, unions make all levels of our government look like a bunch of penny-ante pikers
the National Institute for Labor Relations Research has an interesting article on union violence here and another looooong article on union corruption (it's an almost inexhaustible topic) here with HUNDREDS of further examples of criminal convictions and behavior
reading either article should be enough to make even the most corrupt union thug blush
But I would like to thank-you for your rant. You have displayed, better than I could, what a bitterly biased individual you truly are
unlike you, and your fundamental misunderstanding of economics generally and unions in particular, i have told you exactly and precisely why i oppose unions so strongly, while you ignore inconvenient facts, blabber truisms, purport to be "neutral", and resort to lame sarcasm
the economy-distorting benefits of unions go to a few union members who are the beneficiaries of overpaid sinecures, but they are highly motivated, vocal and politically active, the costs to the rest of us are diffuse and hidden
but those costs are high and real, and as time goes by, businesses are forced to find ways to avoid them, and unamazingly, 90+% of the private economy somehow manages without unions
face it, the day of the corrupt union thug is slowly ending, their entire modus operandi is self-defeating in the long run, it amounts to nothing but the slow suicide we continue to watch
the record is clear and your buchananite brigadier baloney doesn't cut it
true only to a very limited extent, some firms were fat and happy to pass inflated cost structures along to customers, but not for long, and tens of billions have been spent on plant and equipment over the years
steel has been in trouble since the 60s, and firms that failed to modernize and compete effectively have been going by the boards for many years
They were too busy stuffing their pockets full of money to re-fit the mills with modern equipment and stay competative.
two examples of how unstuffed the pockets of steel investors are --
bethlehem steel, recently filed bankruptcy, losses to investors since the '76 peak of about $48 per share (currently about 35 cents): $6.2 BILLION
u.s.x. group (old u.s. steel), not in bankruptcy, losses to investors since the '93 peak of about $45 per share (currently about $15): 3 BILLION
actually, virtually all of steel's woes can be traced directly or indirectly to unions
inflated union payroll costs are obvious
high cost structures lead to first japan and then many other countries over the years targeting steel as it was obvious that u.s. producers could be beaten, and m.i.t.i. wasn't shy about going after them, nor were other governments shy about subsidies to encourage production and exports to the u.s.
for many years unions have helped to elect the democrats and liberal republicans who can be relied on to protect their ability to extort higher wages than they would otherwise receive
an unintended consequence has been that those very same liberal politicians have also loaded tons of extra operating costs on the steel companies in the form of environmental and other regulations
serves 'em right
Steel production is capital and energy intensive, NOT labor intensive.
Once again, your bitter fanaticism leads you to analytical misstatement.
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