Editorial: Proposed U.S. Steel buyout could be next chapter of Pittsburgh history

The history of the steel industry in America can’t be written without Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Sure, iron was mined and smelted before Andrew Carnegie built his first mill here in 1875. It was even made in Pittsburgh, the intersection of ore to craft, coal to burn and the rivers for transportation. The millionaire industrialist just made the process famous and the city synonymous with the metal.

What people tend to forget is that Cleveland is just as melded in the industry’s DNA as Pittsburgh. They aren’t just rivals in football, sniping at one another across the state line like siblings in the backseat on a road trip. They are also competitors in steelmaking.

Samuel Mather was the Carnegie of Ohio — the man behind Cleveland Iron Mining Co.

But steel is an alloy. It brings together iron and carbon to create something newer and, ideally, stronger. The industry has done the same over time. Carnegie Steel merged with Federal Steel and National Steel to become U.S. Steel in 1901. Cleveland Iron merged with Cliffs Iron in 1890 to become Cleveland-Cliffs.

The two companies are among the top producers of steel in the country and the world. U.S. Steel had revenue of about $21 billion in 2022; Cleveland-Cliffs edged it out with $23 billion.

The proposed buyout of U.S. Steel by Cleveland- Cliffs for $7.3 billion was a surprise when it was reported Sunday, but it isn’t unusual. It’s more like the latest chapter in the history book — and history does tend to repeat itself.

“At this juncture, we cannot determine whether your unsolicited proposal properly reflects the full and fair value of the Company. For all of the above reasons, the Board has no choice but to reject your unreasonable proposal,” U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt responded to Cleveland-Cliffs in a letter.

The United Steelworkers union has supported the sale, but only to Cleveland-Cliffs, calling the company an “outstanding employer.” It has had a contentious relationship with U.S. Steel and came to a four-year agreement with it for 11,000 employees in 2022.

Does this mean U.S. Steel should accept the buyout? Of course not. There are too many unanswered questions right now.

But the company — and the community — should be open to the idea. The history of Pittsburgh is more than the history of steel. It is the history of manufacturing, mergers and labor and how they flow together like a confluence of rivers.