Catherwood LibraryILR School

Steelworkers in Trenton, Georgia, a small town of 2,200, disagree that the White House's 25% tariff on steel imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico have helped American workers and businesses. While managers at one steel company, Caparo Bull Moose Industries, think that the tariffs, meant to discourage the purchase of foreign steel, have been helpful, workers say that the benefits have not filtered down to employees. They believe that as soon as the tariffs were announced, the company stockpiled cheap steel and then, with negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement at a standstill for six months, locked workers out for five weeks, leaving workers on unemployment rates of $8.25 an hour when the normal hourly rate is $22.59. The lockout was the first in Georgia in 30 years, and the workers may be in for a another lockout if negotiations for the same contract initiated eight months ago continue to stall.