West Virginia
950 lose jobs as Cleveland-Cliffs closes mill in Weirton, West Virginia
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Cleveland-Cliffs is closing its tinplate works in Weirton, West Virginia, this month, putting 950 workers out of their jobs. This is the last mill still operating in what once was the vast Weirton Steel Works, located about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh.
The announcement is devastating news to the workers, their families and the surrounding community, which has already seen the long decline of steel production in the West Virginia panhandle and along both banks of the Ohio River.
In making the announcement, Cleveland-Cliffs placed blame on the US International Trade Commission (ITC) for failing to impose tariffs on tin products imported from Canada, Germany, China and South Korea.
In a press release Cleveland-Cliffs stated: “The need to idle the Weirton plant is a direct result of the unanimous decision issued by all four members of the International Trade Commission (ITC) negating the implementation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on tin mill products calculated by the Department of Commerce.”
Both Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers filed an anti-dumping complaint last year charging that tinplate products were illegally being dumped into the US market. In January, the Commerce Department announced import duties against Canada, China, Germany and South Korea.
In particular the complaint was targeted against China, which they claim is overproducing tin products and selling them below cost to drive competition out of the market.
The reality is that those responsible for the closure are not overseas but in the United States. The company is closing the facility in order to maximize profits. US corporations have cut hundreds of thousands of jobs over the past year and a half, intending to use mass unemployment as a weapon against rising opposition from the working class.
The ITC complaint amounted to a demand by the company that its own corporate-controlled government in Washington protect its bottom line from foreign competition. When this did not arrive, the company retaliated by throwing hundreds of workers out on the street.
In 2023, the global tin market was valued at $6.9 billion, and world output was 406.8 kilotons. The market is projected to grow to over $9.2 billion by 2031. Primarily, tin is used to coat steel for the production of cans and other products. It is also used in solder for piping and is a major component in optoelectronics, used for high-speed communications.
The ITC complaint filed by the United Steelworkers and Cleveland-Cliffs came amid a series of escalating trade war measures by the US against China. Last week, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen demanded that China cut back its production of electric cars and solar panels, on the grounds that they are “undercutting” American producers. US capitalism is embroiled in a bitter conflict with what it sees as its main rival for dominance of global markets and supply chains.
This is not limited to official enemies but also countries which, for the moment, remain American allies against China. The purchase of US Steel by Japanese-based Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion has prompted a furious backlash, with politicians from parties demanding government action to torpedo the merger.
The bureaucracy of the United Steelworkers, as with the trade unions as a whole, is drawing together with the management of “native” companies on the false claim that trade war will save American jobs. It has instead backed Cleveland-Cliffs’ proposal to buy US Steel on entirely nationalist, “America First” grounds. This has two aims: first, to cover for its own role in enforcing job cuts and pro-company contracts over decades, and second, to try to dragoon workers into supporting new wars against China and others.
Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Brazilian chairman, president and chief executive officer, stated, “We worked very closely with our partners at the USW on this solution to save Weirton, and together fought tirelessly for its survival. … We have been upfront and open with union leadership throughout this process and our partnership with the USW remains unbreakable.”
Just last year, the union pushed through a massive concessions contract with Cleveland-Cliffs. At the time, the now-deceased USW President Tom Conway boasted that the contract would save the Weirton tin plant by allowing the company to make $100 million in capital improvements.
The year prior, the USW rammed through a national contract for oil refinery workers which it boasted “does not lead to inflationary pressures”—that is, keeps wages below price increases. That contract was the product of extensive collaboration between the White House and the USW.
In meeting with workers earlier this month, United Steelworkers International President Dave McCall offered no plan to mobilize workers to fight the shutdown, instead telling workers that the plant can only be saved through appealing the ITC decision.
But the International Trade Commission (ITC) rejected the company’s claim, declaring it did not find that there was significant damage to the American steel industry and that it was dropping its investigation.
Politicians both Democrat and Republican have lined up joining with Cleveland-Cliffs and the USW in denouncing the ITC decision.
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a right-wing Democrat who frequently sides with Republicans against his own party, said: “Today’s announcement is a consequence of the International Trade Commission’s decision to turn a blind eye to nearly 1,000 hard-working employees right here in West Virginia in favor of illegally dumped and subsidized imports. Cleveland-Cliffs’ closure is an absolute injustice not only to American workers, but to the very principle of fair competition, and it will undoubtedly weaken our economic and national security.”
Both US senators from Ohio, Sherrod Brown (Democrat) and the ultra-right Trump supporter JD Vance (Republican) issued similar statements.
The Biden administration has not issued a statement, but protectionist policies are already becoming an issue in the upcoming presidential campaign. Biden has issued a statement opposing the Japanese-owned Nippon Steel plan to purchase Pittsburgh-headquartered US Steel, citing “national security” concerns. That is, the US needs access to domestic production in order to produce tanks, bombers and other equipment for US-backed wars in Gaza, Ukraine and around the world.
Decades of job cuts
The closure of the tinplate mill will mark the end of more than a century of steel production in Weirton, West Virginia.
Weirton Steel Corporation was formed in 1909 by Ernest Weir, as an integrated steel producer. In 1929, the company merged with two other steel companies, one in Detroit and the other in Cleveland, to form the National Steel Corporation. At its height, more than 13,000 people worked at the mills in Weirton, West Virginia.
However, by the 1970s, with the end of the postwar economic boom and the beginning of the decline of US economic dominance, American manufacturers carried out a massive program of reorganization to cut costs and boost production. Scores of steel mills were closed, and hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off.
During the 1980 and 1990s as the US steel industry was being reorganized and consolidated, the USW worked with the companies to cut hundreds of thousands of jobs, dismantling plant after plant, uprooting workers and their families and destroying communities.
Throughout this deindustrialization of Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, Youngstown to Gary, Indiana, and Chicago, the USW worked tirelessly to prevent steelworkers from drawing the conclusions that it was necessary to unite with workers across national borders to fight the massive multinational corporations.
Instead, the union tried to turn steelworkers against their class brothers and sisters by placing the blame for the layoffs and unemployment onto the backs of their class brothers from Japan, South Korea and Brazil. This set up a global race to the bottom, enabling these companies to whipsaw workers from different countries as they moved production around the world.
In 1984, National Steel sold the Weirton mill to the employees in what became at the time one of the largest Employee Stock Ownership Programs (ESOP) in the country. Many organizations claiming to be socialists hailed employee ownership as the answer to mill closures. They saw this as an alternative to uniting workers internationally in the struggle against the capitalist system.
In reality, “employee ownership” was just another means through which the Wall Street bankers could force through further concessions, this time being done by the “employee managers.” The ESOP program meant that workers had to take a 20 percent pay cut, while saving National Steel $500 to $700 million in shutdown costs.
At that time, the mill employed over 7,000 workers. After the first initial few years, the company cut jobs, citing the need to make a profit. By 2004, the mill employed fewer than half that number.
In 2004, after several rounds of concessions and layoffs, Weirton was sold off in bankruptcy court and bought by the International Steel Group but sold two years later to Mittal Steel, which merged with Arcelor to become ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer in 2006.
In 2020, ArcelorMittal sold its US business, including the Weirton plant, to Cleveland-Cliffs for approximately $1.4 billion.
The nationalism and chauvinism being advanced by the United Steelworkers today has an even more sinister content than what was done in the 1980s and 1990s. The aim today is to prepare the working class for war.
The shutdown of Weirton can and must be stopped. This requires that workers unite with steelworkers and other workers around the world facing mass layoffs, not unite with management against “foreign” workers. To accomplish this, workers should form a rank-and-file committee at the Weirton works to fight against management, the USW’s collusion and the corporate-controlled political setup.
Autoworkers, educators, healthcare workers and others have already formed such committees and are working to coordinate their struggles across the country and internationally through a world movement, the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – West Virginia Virtual Academy celebrated its second graduating class Tuesday at the Clay Center.
The ceremony featured a keynote speech and performance from West Virginia native and season six winner of America’s Got Talent’ Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., where he set out to inspire the class.
The class graduated 140 students, with eight earning a Promise Scholarship and 26 intending to attend college in the fall.
The academy’s director Doug Cipoletti said the virtual learning is about more than sitting behind a screen.
“Then we provide this [ceremony] where kids can actually come together and meet one another and build those relationships,” Cipoletti said. “So yes, we’re a virtual school, but there’s a lot more to it than just being behind a computer and I think that really shows today.”
West Virginia Virtual Academy is a K-12 school.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
West Virginia Democrats have an open competition at the top of the state party – WV MetroNews
West Virginia Democrats have a competition for leader of the state party.
Teresa Toriseva, who currently serves as first vice chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, says she is running for the top spot currently held by Mike Pushkin, who also serves as a state delegate from Charleston.
“This is not a civil war within the Democratic Party. On the contrary, the party is quite unified in message and in mission. And that’s what I found as I’ve been campaigning to run for chair, and I’ve never believed it to be more true,” Toriseva said on MetroNews Midday. “It’s an exciting time for what is a growing, robust opposition party.”
But, “There has been a call for us to prepare for the future better and differently than the past and one of those things that I’m going to be focusing on is building relationships with coalition members from groups that think like us, groups that want to work together with us, from labor to women’s groups to organizing groups that are on the ground doing the work, bringing messages to voters.”
Toriseva is a Wheeling attorney who ran in 2024 for state attorney general, losing in the general election.
Democrats, which used to be the dominant political party in West Virginia, now have almost 327,000 registered voters in the state, about 27% of the overall number of registered voters.
The Republican Party has more than 521,000 registered voters, about 43% of the total number.
Toriseva says Democrats have had a successful period of candidate recruitment that can serve as a base for revitalization.
“Democrats are back, and does that mean we’re going to look like we did a decade ago? No, it’s a new party, and we’re moving forward in a new way, but the future is going to look very different than the past,” she said.
Democrats, under the direction of their own bylaws and state code, are having an organizational meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday in Charleston. The meeting’s focus will be on the election of officers. The meeting will be broadcast to the public via wvdemocrats.com/live
Toriseva has worked alongside Pushkin as one of the top officers of the party for the past several years.
“It’s either have an election now or anoint the incumbent for four more years, and so I do think that elections are healthy, that competitive elections are a sign of a growing and robust party and I don’t think that it’s any indication of a civil war,” Toriseva said.
Pushkin, in response, agreed that anyone is entitled to run for chair and make their case to the members of the executive committee.
And he said the resurgence of the West Virginia Democratic Party has been the result of the hard work of county committees, labor organizations, women’s clubs, Young Democrats, grassroots activists, candidates and countless volunteers across the state.
“What leadership does deserve credit for is creating a plan, bringing people together around that plan, and providing the tools and support necessary to execute it. Our record-breaking candidate recruitment effort did not happen by accident,” Pushkin said.
He said party leaders developed an organizing strategy, held weekly recruitment calls, engaged county leaders and allied organizations, launched the first large-scale candidate recruitment texting program in party history and raised funds to cover filing fees for candidates willing to step forward and put their names on the ballot.
“The question before us now is not who gets credit. The question is whether we continue building on that momentum or allow ourselves to become distracted by internal disagreements while Republicans remain deeply divided,” Pushkin said.
“My focus remains exactly where it has always been: bringing Democrats together, supporting our candidates and taking the fight to Republicans every single day.”
West Virginia
More Mountaineer magic: Guzman’s walk-off single in 10th sends West Virginia to 6-5 win over Kentucky in regional championship – WV MetroNews
GRANVILLE, W.Va. — It was never going to be easy.
Not with the recent history in the Kentucky-West Virginia series, which consisted of four postseason contests decided by one or two runs across the last two years ahead of Monday’s meeting in the Morgantown Regional Championship at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
Sure enough, Kentucky strung together five straight hits with two outs in the eighth, including a three-run home run from Hudson Brown and a solo shot from Ethan Hindle to tie the winner-take-all affair at 5.
But West Virginia has consistently shown the ability to not waver, including one night earlier when it rallied with five runs in the ninth inning to knock off the Wildcats, 11-9.
This time around, the Mountaineers relied on pitcher Dawson Montesa in relief one day after a 122-pitch outing against Wake Forest. Montesa recorded a pair of pivotal outs in the top of the 10th inning, setting the stage for Armani Guzman’s walk-off single to center in the bottom of the 10th that gave WVU a 6-5 victory.
“That was fun. I couldn’t draw it up any better,” second-year WVU head coach Steve Sabins said. “Everything that you love about coaching and everything you love about players was on full display this weekend. It was cinema and had literally everything you can imagine. If you keep going and stick through adversity, then you can do incredible things.”
With the win, West Virginia (43-15) will play host to Cal Poly (39-22) in a best-of-three Super Regional series with the winner advancing to the College World Series. The Mountaineers and North Carolina are the only teams to qualify for a Super Regional each of the last three years.
Guzman’s single came off of Jack Bennett, who began his outing with 14 consecutive strikes and retired six straight Mountaineers over the eighth and ninth innings collectively.
“That was my third at bat against him,” Guzman said. “He got me to pop out on change-ups twice. That at bat, I wanted to see him deeper. I wanted to hit the ball as hard as I could and stay composed.”
The bottom of the 10th began with Brodie Kresser’s leadoff single against Bennett, who then missed with a full count offering to Ben Lumsden that put two on to start the inning.
Tyrus Hall then got ahead 2-0, but popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt for the first out.
Disappointment didn’t last long as Guzman got ahead 2-0 and hit a solid single that allowed Kresser to score the winning run.
It was another memorable postseason moment from Guzman, who a year ago was named MVP of the Clemson Regional.
“He likes the moment. He loves to win,” Sabins said of Guzman. “He’s probably the best athlete in the country. That doesn’t hurt him either. I love his makeup and mentality.”
Game 7 of the Morgantown Regional had a little bit of everything, including a bounce-back effort from Maxx Yehl.
The Big 12 Pitcher of the Year was knocked around and didn’t make it out the first inning Friday in what amounted to an 11-9 loss to UK.
This time around, he worked five effective innings and allowed one run on three hits. The southpaw struck out six without issuing a walk and was efficient, throwing 42 of 67 pitches for strikes.
“Grateful the coaches believed in me to give me the ball,” Yehl said, “and I was excited to get back out there and help the team win.”
After keeping UK (33-23) off the scoreboard in the top of the first, Yehl returned to the mound in the second the beneficiary of a 1-0 lead after a dropped third strike allowed Sean Smith to reach and Gavin Kelly to score from third. Kelly had doubled with one out off Wildcats’ starting pitcher Jackson Soucie.
Guzman’s speed was the biggest factor in WVU doubling its lead in the third.
He reached on a bunt single, stole second on a failed pickoff attempt, moved to third on Kelly’s groundout and crossed the plate on a Paul Schoenfeld groundout.
Brown’s solo home run off Yehl in the fourth allowed the Wildcats to get back to within one run.
Yehl induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Owen Jenkins to end the top of the fifth and the Mountaineers put together their best offensive inning in the bottom of that frame.
It began with Guzman’s double to left, which was followed by Kelly’s base-on-balls and a run-scoring single from Schoenfeld.
Matthew Graveline made it a three-run margin later that inning when he doubled to plate Kelly.
Kelly’s solo home run in the sixth — his third of the regional and 16th this season — left WVU with a 5-1 advantage. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Morgantown Regional.
“It’s a team MVP. It’s unreal the stuff that everybody on this team did,” Kelly said. “Everyone on the team deserves that. We have a team full of MVPs. It’s hard to kill when you have that.”
Ian Korn made that lead hold up until the eighth despite retiring the first two batters of that inning. Tyler Bell prolonged it with a single, Luke Lawrence followed with another and Brown belted his second long ball of the night to bring UK to within one run.
“We weren’t trained at any point throughout the year to ever think we’re out of a game,” Brown said. “Coach always tells us to keep fighting.”
Hindle made it back-to-back home runs, at which point Korn was lifted for Chansen Cole.
Cole allowed a single to Braxton Van Cleave, but struck out Tyler Cerny to end the inning.
In the ninth, Cole issued a leadoff walk to Carson Hansen, but he was stranded at second.
Kentucky then made consistent hard contact against Cole in the 10th, including several foul balls by mere inches that otherwise likely would’ve gone as extra-base hits.
With Cole and Hindle involved in a lengthy battle, Sabins elected to pull Cole mid at-bat in favor of Montesa, who entered with the count 1-2.
Montesa ultimately walked Hindle, which left Kentucky with runners at first and second and one out. But the right-hander, whose velocity was in the high 90s, followed it up by striking out Van Cleave and got Cerny to fly out to left for what wound up Kentucky’s final at bat of the season.
“I was like I don’t know if we have something left in the tank to get this dude out,” Sabins said. “We might be standing here watching the next pitch as a Wildcat crosses home plate. We rushed Montesa. It wasn’t exactly a genius move, but it ended up playing out well.”
Montesa recorded his second win in as many days by recording the last two outs of the 10th.
Guzman led WVU and all players with three hits.
Brown drove in four of his team’s five runs.
“I would think anybody that watched our team play would have to respect what we’ve been able to do,” UK coach Nick Mingione said. “Not an easy place to play like anywhere on the road in our league, but anybody that follows baseball, I really believe they would say we have gained a lot of respect.”
The third largest crowd in Kendrick Family Ballpark history of 4,607 took in the instant classic.
“It’s been cemented that this is the best college baseball atmosphere in the country,” Sabins said. “Nowhere can provide the energy that just happened in Morgantown. The place was absolutely electric.”
All-Morgantown Regional Team
C: Matt Conte, Wake Forest
1B: Armani Guzman, West Virginia
2B: Gavin Kelly, West Virginia
SS: Tyler Bell, Kentucky
3B: Tyrus Hall, West Virginia
LF: Ben Lumsden, West Virginia
CF: Javar Williams, Wake Forest
RF: Braxton Van Cleave, Kentucky
DH: Luke Lawrence, Kentucky
P: Chansen Cole, WVU
P: Dawson Montesa, WVU
Regional MVP: Gavin Kelly, WVU
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