Steelworkers Back Proposed ‘FORGES’ Act

Bill from Pisciottano would create incentives to support steelmaking

By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
June 25, 2025
Posted in: State & Region

Members of United Steelworkers District 10 met June 10 with State Sen. Nick Pisciotanno. (Submitted photo courtesy State Sen. Nick Pisciottano)

Leaders of the United Steelworkers union are putting their support behind a proposed bill from a local legislator to shore up the future of steelmaking in Pennsylvania.

The Fueling Opportunities for the Revitalization, Growth, and Efficiency of Steel Act — “FORGES” — was announced last month by State Sen. Nick Pisciottano, West Mifflin Democrat, who is seeking co-sponsors.

Although it has not yet been introduced officially, it has attracted support from three state legislators — including State Rep. John Inglis of West Mifflin.

The bill would create incentives to support the steel industry in Pennsylvania, including sales tax exemptions for the use of Pennsylvania-made steel as well as tax credits for upgrades to Pennsylvania steelmaking facilities.

“I think it’s very important,” said Bernie Hall, director of USW District 10, based in North Versailles Twp. “The best part of the bill is that it brings the steel industry into the state budget conversation.”

In an email last week, Pisciottano said that growing up in the Mon Valley, he often heard that the region’s “best days were behind us.” 

Now that Japanese-based Nippon Steel has obtained official approval for its nearly $15 billion takeover of Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel, Pisciottano said, “my hope is that this new era for U.S. Steel can be a new era for all of us in the Mon Valley.”

As part of the process to obtain federal government approval for the takeover, Nippon Steel made a number of concessions and promises, including the commitment of $11 billion in upgrades to existing U.S. Steel mining and steel-making facilities.

Piscottano and others are hopeful that a portion of Nippon’s planned investment will include upgrades to the Mon Valley Works facilities — especially Irvin Plant, which essentially still operates a production line first installed in 1938. Company insiders have said the Irvin Plant cannot produce newer, thinner and higher-strength steels that customers now want.

In 2019, U.S. Steel had promised $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion in investments in its three Mon Valley Works plants, including a new “endless caster and roller” at Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock that would go from raw materials to finished steel without an intermediate step; a new rolling mill at Irvin Plant in West Mifflin to provide steel to the automotive and appliance industries; and updated pollution equipment at Clairton Plant that would also produce electricity. 

Instead, in 2021, U.S. Steel purchased Arkansas-based Big River Steel for $1.5 billion and canceled the investments in the Mon Valley Works, blaming unfavorable environmental regulations and a slow permitting process in the Pittsburgh area.

The broken promise angered local steelworkers and elected officials.

“Nippon’s planned investments have the potential to jump-start an exciting new era in our region’s long history of manufacturing,” Piscottano said in his email. “I look forward to working with Nippon and U.S. Steel to ensure that the benefits of this potential renaissance reach every worker, neighborhood and resident in the Mon Valley.”

The Mon Valley Works employs approximately 3,000 workers directly and supports other related businesses that use its products, according to U.S. Steel annual reports.

“The steel industry is still a huge part of our economy in western Pennsylvania,” Hall said. “There are thousands of workers in the steel industry here.”

Hall said the FORGES Act isn’t a giveaway to industry. Among other things, he said, it would require a steelmaker to invest at least $50 million in manufacturing upgrades in order to qualify for tax credits.

“This is legislation that actually has teeth behind it,” Hall said. He said the Steelworkers union — which opposed the Nippon takeover — is hopeful that other state legislators will sign onto the FORGES Act, and that it will reach Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk.

“Senator (Pisciottano) has brought in stakeholders from across the board,” Hall said. “The bill is still relatively young but the talks we’ve had so far with elected officials have been positive. I think there is an appetite to support the steel industry in Pennsylvania.”

Hall said the Steelworkers union is pressing Pennsylvania officials for help on a number of issues, including updates to worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation and occupational health and safety protections for local and state government workers, who are generally excluded from OSHA oversight.

But the FORGES Act is an important issue to the union, he said, and he hopes Pennsylvania voters will learn more about it.

“I think if this is an important issue to them, I would tell them to talk to their state representative or state senator,” Hall said. “I would encourage them to go to Sen Pisciottano’s website for more information.”

Originally published June 25, 2025.

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