Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) praised the deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, announced last Friday by President Donald Trump, calling it a game changer on several fronts.
“This is a BFD [big f***ing deal],” Shapiro said with a smile, highlighting that the agreement will not only have a major impact on the steel industry as a whole but also help stabilize and revitalize the region.
Shapiro said when the deal was announced in December 2023, people immediately took sides. However, he prioritized protecting steelmaking in the Mon Valley and keeping US Steel’s headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh. “That was my North Star,” he told the Washington Examiner.
Shapiro said he watched the local union members go from being against the deal to supporting it. “They really evolved over time on the deal,” he said.
Jack Maskil, president of United Steelworkers Union Local 227, admitted he was initially stunned and deeply skeptical when he first learned about the deal, saying his immediate reaction was to oppose it.
“That changed over time. It did for all of us,” he said, referring to the shift in attitude among members of the local union, which represents workers at the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, the Irvin Works in West Mifflin, and the Clairton Works in Clairton. Maskil now strongly supports the deal, with Trump actively backing it to ensure it moves forward.
Shapiro said that after speaking with local stakeholders last year, he went to the White House to urge then-President Joe Biden to act on the agreement. However, he noted that it took multiple follow-up calls to get a response from Biden’s team. “I talked to his chief of staff, Jeff Zients, over and over and over again. And I was really disappointed with the decision that they made,” he said.
Shapiro said that after Trump’s election victory, he reached out to the transition team to share what he had heard from local residents about the vital importance of securing a deal. “And credit the President for making the deal richer and richer, meaning more money put in it and looking out for Pennsylvania in this,” he said.
Shapiro said the deal got even sweeter thanks to Trump’s negotiating style. “The deal has gotten better. The prospects for the future of steelmaking have gotten better,” he said, emphasizing that he worked closely with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) throughout the process.
Shapiro said his first conversation with Trump took place in late April, shortly after Cody Balmer allegedly set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion.
“When the president called me after the fire, we talked for about 15, 20 minutes. And after he checked in to make sure our family was doing well, we got down to business, and we talked for a while about different issues. And this was the first issue I raised with him. I actually think maybe he was surprised to hear me talk about the need to get this done and my support for getting something done,” he said.
“Please don’t take this as I’m claiming credit. This is an example of everybody working together, and Friday, well, that will be a good day,” he said, smiling in anticipation of the deal being finalized on May 30.
