MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- The United Steelworkers union, angered by Esmark Inc.'s plan to lay off workers at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., said Wednesday it is in talks with Severstal North America Inc. and others, urging them to pursue a buyout of the company.
Wheeling-Pitt staggered through two bankruptcies and a string of financial losses before Esmark seized control during a proxy fight in 2006 and completed the buyout last year. The company has hinted at layoffs and this week announced shutdowns in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- which has cemented opposition among the union.
''We need a new partner, and we think Severstal is that partner,'' said John Saunders, a United Steelworkers contract coordinator from Wheeling, W.Va., where the company is based.
Severstal, which has a joint partnership with Wheeling-Pitt, already owns 50 percent of a coke plant in Follansbee, W.Va., and is a company the union works with daily.
''Severstal has shown an interest ... and it's an easier fit for us than bringing in another partner who's unknown,'' said Saunders. However, ''We continue to look at other partners.''
Neither Wheeling-Pitt CEO and Chairman Jim Bouchard nor Severstal North America, based in Dearborn, Mich., would say whether buyout talks are under way.
''We don't comment on any market rumors or speculation,'' said Severstal spokeswoman Katya Pruett.
Bouchard declined to comment on ''merger activities, speculation or rumor.''
''All I'll say is we have a partnership with them, and they're a very good partner,'' he said. ''We have conversations with them all the time. ... Severstal is a very good company.''
What is clear is the union's position on Esmark, Bouchard and his brother Craig Bouchard, the company's president.
''Our goal is to run these Bouchards out of here,'' Saunders said, two days after Wheeling-Pitt announced that it would shut a mill in Allenport, Pa., and cut back production the one in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The union said those moves will affect about 360 employees.
Though Esmark was the best option as the company teetered on the edge of a third bankruptcy, Saunders said, ''This surely didn't work out the way that any of us envisioned.''
