Here's what most people don't understand about the steel industry. Making that stuff is brutal and dangerous. It's better than it used to be,but it is still about the roughest job a person can have.

Yes,steel workers make a good paycheck,in The United States. They have to..or they wouldn't do it.

You wouldn't believe how many times I've seen new hires,who had quit pretty good jobs,because of a chance at better pay,came into the melt shop ( That's exactly what it is),first explosion (which is common)or a big fire,or a hot spot on a furnace or Ladle, Maybe a bad chemistry in a heat,and the steel is boiling out. They would walk the hell out on their first day.
If it doesn't pay good,you may as well not try to have a steel mill in the U.S.

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Posted by kingbob

Sorrento, LA

Member since Nov 2010

67079 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 12:02 pm to TaTa Toothy

Neither: The EPA

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Posted by TBoy

Kalamazoo

Member since Dec 2007

23701 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 12:06 pm to TaTa Toothy

Heavy industry raw material production is always cheaper if you can just dump the waste and byproduct on the ground, in the river or release it into the air. China is poisoning its people and land, like we used to do, with its production practices. But no regulation and slave wages does make it cheaper to produce.

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Posted by dewster

Chicago

Member since Aug 2006

25343 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 12:21 pm to auggie

I think the Edgar Thompson Works is still there in Braddock as a US Steel mill. It still runs with two blast furnaces just upriver from Pittsburgh.

I think that was Andrew Carnegie's first steel mill built from the ground up.

Must have been interesting to live in this area in the 1960s and 1970s when mills like that lined the rivers.

This post was edited on 3/3/18 at 12:30 pm

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Posted by Rex

Here, there, and nowhere

Member since Sep 2004

66001 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 12:56 pm to AUstar

quote:
I don't care if someone is an environmentalist. Cool. What bothers me is the hypocrisy. If you are an environmentalist, I have a few recommendations: 1) Sell your car and ride a bike 2) Cut power to your home (unless you are self-sufficient with solar panels) 3) Do not buy smartphones 4) Never take a plane anywhere 5) Do not buy products from China

How can I tell you're VERY stupid? By the very stupid things you say.

We can have a nice balance of cars, power, smartphones, planes, products from China... ALL while seeking renewable energies and keeping the environment clean. In the long run it's more expensive to clean up pollution and pay for its health effects than to keep things clean to begin with.

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Posted by Celery

Nuevo York

Member since Nov 2010

11087 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 1:16 pm to TaTa Toothy

Steel Industry began shedding jobs in the 60’s as production started becoming more efficient which eventually became full automation. Add to that cheap Chinese labor and more effective recycling methods.

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Posted by member12

Bob's Country Bunker

Member since May 2008

32095 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 1:20 pm to Rex

quote:
We can have a nice balance of cars, power, smartphones, planes, products from China...

How do we control air pollution in industrialized China?

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Posted by Cruiserhog

Little Rock

Member since Apr 2008

10460 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 3:20 pm to TaTa Toothy

China is fifth on the list of steel importers brah. Trump is playing up to the ignorance of the American public with this tariff bullshite, especially when china is singled out.

Our good neighbor and ally Canada is number one.

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Posted by NC_Tigah

Carolinas

Member since Sep 2003

123894 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 3:23 pm to Cruiserhog

quote:
China is fifth on the list of steel importers brah.

That list does not include transhipping and manufacturing workarounds.

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Posted by MrCarton

Paradise Valley, MT

Member since Dec 2009

20231 posts

Posted on 3/3/18 at 3:32 pm to Boatshoes

quote:
Labor is only a small part of the savings.

False. The average median income in the first world countries of the EU, North America, and Australia/New Zealand is anywhere from 1000% to 1500% higher than those of third world countries like China and India.

Not that regulations don't play a part - and we should be addressing that on the home front - but the labor savings are massive and using blanket tariffs against countries with low standards of living to equalize that part of the equation is a very good idea.

Thanks for providing all those facts to support your claims. For a second it looked like just another paragraph or two of unsubstantiated bullshite.

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