Ormet Corp. (ORMTQ)

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Keeping up on the old Ormet Aluminum Plant current news..7/30/15

Despite pay dispute, steelworkers on job at old Ormet site
July 30, 2015
By CASEY JUNKINS - Special to the Herald-Star , Herald-Star
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HANNIBAL - Nearly two years after Ormet Corp. displaced hundreds of workers by closing its aluminum smelter amid a dispute with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio over electric rates, new employees are ready to produce steel billets inside the facility.

However, officials with the Ohio Department of Commerce are investigating a July 7 complaint that the company, Michigan-based VV Steel, has not been paying its workers.

"They did receive a complaint on July 7. It is still under investigation," department spokesman Matt Mullins said Wednesday.

Article Photos


ON THE JOB — As the VV Steel plant starts work at the former Ormet Corp. site, some employees are concerned about not getting paid, but a company official said Wednesday they will receive compensation this week. — Contributed

Niagara Worldwide now owns the former Ormet site. Earlier this year, Niagara President Eric J. Spirtas said a company not under his ownership - would manufacture steel billets at the site this year, with hopes of eventually growing the operation to require 300 workers.

According to its website, VV Steel is "established to produce steel billets, reconstruction bars and other steel products with projected output of 50,000 tons of steel per month." The firm lists its local office in New Martinsville.

Reached Wednesday, VV Steel official Ravi Kumar said the 24 workers now on the job should soon see paychecks.

"We were behind on it. We are working on it. They will get paid this week," he said. "It will be taken care of."

Ohio Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire, said he received some complaints from constituents regarding the matter.

"I have referred people to the U.S. Department of Labor," he said. "Normally, if you quit, you don't qualify for unemployment. But, not getting paid seems like a just cause for leaving a job. My duty is to make sure these workers get paid."

Cera said he spoke with officials from JobsOhio, the state's private economic development agency, about VV Steel.

"My first comment to JobsOhio was that they better not be giving this company any financial help if they cannot meet their payroll," Cera said, noting department officials told him they were not giving the steel firm any special tax breaks.

The once prominent Ormet sign near the entrance to the plant site now is gone, replaced by a new sign recognizing the area as the Center Port Terminal, offering a space for oilfield services, manufacturing, warehousing, transloading, barge and rail.

"It has come to my attention both by the workers and by JobsOhio officials that the company has been missing payroll," state Sen. Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, said. "It is a huge concern. The workers deserve better. State officials have an obligation to investigate. If they are not paying workers, they are in violation of federal law."

With the closure of the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. mills, along with most of the former Weirton Steel Corp. operations, the Upper Ohio Valley lost thousands of steel jobs over the last decade even before the aluminum employees at Ormet lost their jobs in 2013.

"It would be nice for somebody to get something going there to get some people back to work," Cera said of VV Steel. "You can't expect people to work without being paid, though."

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