[www.ferro-alloys.com]Laid-off AK Steel workers were fed a hearty meal, but it didn’t satisfy their hunger to work.

Some of the 633 men and women displaced after the AK Steel Ashland mill was idled last December attended the annual luncheon on Saturday at the United Steelworkers Local 1865 Hall.

The feed is usually geared toward retirees, chapter president Mike Howard said, but the union felt compelled to invite their laid-off co-workers and current AK Steel employees this year.

“We need to get the word back out to the community,” said Howard. “We’ve got 200 due to lose insurance in December.”

Jason Keeney, of South Point, is one of many AK Steel workers still seeking answers from the corporation. He and his wife, Jennifer, voiced frustration while their six children played outside the hall.

“I’m back in school now, studying industrial maintenance. But that’s not what I want to do. I want to work,” said Keeney.

Jennifer Keeney said workers’ families are struggling because of the lack of confirmation from AK Steel on the future of the mill. “We need to know, especially if they aren’t coming back,” she said. “If they do, I’ll have his lunch packed two days ahead of time.”

Jason Keeney said he misses bending steel with fire, the camaraderie among the workers — even clocking each morning. “I miss the little things. I miss pulling into the parking lot, walking into work with the rain and snow pouring down.”

William Toppings is one of 198 workers left at the mill. He said he’s still growing accustomed to the lack of activity. “It’s so different, you don’t see the steam or smoke like before. And it’s not just the 600 laid off that are gone,” said Toppings. “It’s the contractors. For every one worker, there’s seven others attached.”

Many laid-off workers in the region have qualified for the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, which helps them enroll in college courses or find new employment.

But companies aren’t so eager to hire displaced AK steelworkers, Kim Wallenburg said. The former computer process technician worked at the Ashland mill for 14 years. “Companies hold it against you if you’ve worked at AK for several years,” she said. “They don’t want to hire someone, then turn around and lose them if the mill fires back up.”

Wallenburg was hired at Special Metals in Huntington, West Virginia, as a supervisor in May, but lost her new job three months later when the company issued its own mass layoff.

“I want to work. Unemployment and myself are not friends,” said Wallenburg. “If AK called today, I’d be clocking in at midnight.”

Efforts to entice AK Steel to resume operations at its blast furnace have been championed by the Ashland Alliance, government officials and state lawmakers. HB535 was passed in the spring at the urging of state lawmakers from the northeast region, such as Kevin Sinnette, D-Ashland, who attended the Saturday luncheon, Jill York, R-Grayson, Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook and Lew Nicholls, D-Greenup.

The bill makes the costs of starting up an idled blast furnace eligible for funding through the Kentucky Industrial Revitalization Act program, among other incentives.

AK Steel also cited Chinese steel dumping, or oversupplying the U.S. market with cheaper steel than U.S. manufacturers can produce, as reason for the idling of the mill. Steel dumping is deemed an “unfair trade practice” by domestic manufacturers.

In May, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Administration, or ITA, levied anti-dumping tariffs on imports from some Asian countries. The U.S. also slapped tariffs of over 500 percent on Chinese cold-rolled steel.

Despite the apparent aid, AK Steel Corporation has not publicly declared its intentions for the Ashland mill. The silence has led many local steelworkers to question the corporation’s true motive behind the closing of the blast furnace.

“It feels like they don’t care about the 600 without a job,” said Keeney. “They just care about their bottom line.”

Local union chairman Clint Poplin, who organized the luncheon, and Howard said local, laid-off steelworkers still need help from the community.

“It could be as simple as giving out coupons,” said Howard. “Anything they can do to help out. We need it.”

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• [Editor:tianyawei]