Now that the partnership between Nippon and U.S. Steel has been finalized — and Granite City Works doesn’t appear to be receiving any investments — the focus of local steelworkers, the town’s mayor, state lawmakers and a congresswoman largely remains on one man: President Donald Trump.
Their message: Persuade U.S. Steel and the new Japanese owner, Nippon, to invest in and save the Metro East steel mill Trump visited just seven years ago.
Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson and two state lawmakers, Sen. Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, and Rep. Amy Elik, R-Godfrey, have written separate letters to the White House, advocating for the steel mill.
“Granite City needs your help, President Trump, to gain the investment from U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel that will allow this plant to be a leader once again making high-quality steel here in the U.S.A.,” the two lawmakers wrote.
After more than two decades of what some residents see as numerous empty promises and a lack of investment from U.S. Steel, many steelworkers, current and retired, feel frustrated that Granite City Works appears to be on the losing end of this massive deal that Trump helped broker.
“They left Granite City out of the conversation, and it's still left out of the conversation,” said Doug May, a retired steelworker who worked at the mill for 43 years.
What rubs some the wrong way: Trump promised to bring back American manufacturing jobs this past election and touted his trade policies during a visit to the steel mill in 2018 as a way to protect that industry.
However, with little being said of Granite City Works’ future, some are starting to ask: Have Trump and the companies kept their promises to those in the Metro East, or have they forgotten or abandoned them?
Split on Trump, steelworkers aren't happy with U.S. Steel
The answer to that question is mixed, depending on whom you ask.
For Parkinson, who won another four years as Granite City’s mayor earlier this year, the lack of any mention of Granite City Works — besides a promise to keep it open for two years — has left him perturbed.
“If you were serious about it in 2018, why aren't you here now?” Parkinson said.
In his letter, Parkinson makes the case that Trump’s visit not only helped restart the blast furnaces at the steel mill, bringing back hundreds of jobs, but it also won the president countless voters, as many working-class voters have shifted more to Republicans.
“We have workers who are losing hope, workers who once were supporters of the Democratic Party and became supporters of you, Mr. President, for what you did for them in 2018,” Parkinson wrote.
Just seven years later, both blast furnaces sit idle. Currently, no steel is being produced at the mill. Roughly 900 employees work to process steel shipped in from other mills, compared to nearly 2,000 workers when fully staffed.
“In 2025, we’re back to where we were. In fact, we’re worse,” Parkinson said. “I just don’t understand why. This isn’t a political fight. This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans. This is about American jobs. It’s about American industry.”
Michael Pool, who works on the galvanizing line, says U.S. Steel also deserves blame. For him, the lack of direction has been frustrating these past couple of years. While he’s a strong union supporter, he said he leans more conservative and has been supportive of the president.
“I think U.S. Steel has told Trump this is what they’re looking for, and Trump is backing what they want,” Pool said.
As part of the deal that Trump approved, he or a designee of his has the final say over the idling, closure or sale of a former U.S. Steel facility — what’s known as the golden share. For Granite City Works, that expires in June 2027, which is eight years sooner than at all other U.S. Steel facilities.
Some worry the shortened timeline means Nippon could have plans to sell off the blast furnaces or close the plant altogether.
Like nearly all in the Metro East, Pool says the steel mill could be worthy of investment if Trump advocates for it.
“If he was able to do that, I think that he wouldn’t be sorry,” Pool said. “I feel like it would definitely be a win for not just Granite City and Granite City Works, it would be for our whole country. It’s a great thing to keep as many steelworking facilities open as we can.”
However, there’s one concern: Things feel different than they did seven years ago, Pool said.
“We’re not getting that same vibe that we were in 2018,” he said. “I just don’t feel like there’s much pressure politically on that for this plant — and that’s been frustrating.”
May, the retired steelworker, sees both Trump and U.S. Steel as problems.
Since U.S. Steel took over Granite City Works in 2003, he and other union members felt the Pittsburgh-based company hadn't made their mill a priority.
Some suspect Granite City hasn’t looked as attractive as a newer, non-unionized steel mill just a couple of hours south on the Mississippi River in northeast Arkansas called Big River Steel, which stands to get $3 billion in investments from Nippon.
In 2009, the steelworkers rallied an estimated 5,000 people in Granite City. A couple of weeks later, it was discovered that steel pipe from India was being imported to build the Keystone Pipeline, instead of American steel being used.
They rallied again. The union also filed hundreds of trade cases against countries they believed were dumping cheap steel, presumably helping the business of the corporate bosses.
“It’s an emotional thing for me, too,” May said. “We were the best foot soldiers for domestic steel — not just U.S. Steel — but domestically.”
By the time Trump came in 2018 after he announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum, U.S. Steel had likely already decided to restart the blast furnaces in Granite City. Instead, the president took the credit, May said.
“It was an opportunity for him to come in, pat himself on the back and build his base,” May said. “And it has been effective for him, but he's shown no interest in Granite City, in terms of the Nippon deal with U.S. Steel. So, that bothers me a lot.”
“Ironic” may be another way to describe the disconnection, May said.
“Granite City steelworkers got slapped in the face, left out in the cold and completely forgotten for all the historical work they have done to save domestic steel,” he said.
Even with the disagreements over politics, there is something nearly everyone can agree on: They don’t entirely know what’s going to happen next.
“As the smoke clears out this political and corporate whirlwind, how does this mill fit into the mix?” said Jason Chism, a subdistrict director of the steelworkers union in Granite City. “That’s what we want to know.”
Can Trump be swayed?
In an ideal world, the new Japanese owner would invest $500 million in Granite City Works, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, has said.
Of the $11 billion in investments outlined in the deal between Nippon and U.S. Steel, Granite City Works does not make the list.
Budzinski hasn’t reached out directly to the White House regarding Granite City Works. At a press conference last month, she said the Trump administration should bring the union to the table, respect and uphold labor contracts and upgrade the Metro East mill.
Jerome Katz, a St. Louis University business professor, believes Budzinski’s request for investment isn’t unreasonable. He also wonders if Cleveland Cliffs, the first company to make an offer for U.S. Steel in 2023, could get involved again.
“It’s possible that Cleveland Cliffs could make an offer for Granite City,” he said.
A representative for Cleveland Cliffs did not respond to requests for comment.
The office of U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, who represented the mill until 2021 when congressional districts changed, passed along the Republican state lawmakers’ letters to Trump’s Department of Legislative Affairs.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Harriss, who co-authored that letter, attended Trump’s visit to Granite City as a Madison County Board member. There, she heard Trump make a promise to keep the mill open and invest in its employees.
“I am taking him at his word for that — and just as the representative here — want to remind him of Granite City and how things did turn around for the short term after that visit,” Harriss said. “We would love for him to be mindful as he's making those decisions now at the federal level that will impact us here locally.”
Neither Nippon nor U.S. Steel has given any official indication of what plans remain, if any, for Granite City Works after June 2027.
Until then, the steelworkers, community, city leadership and local elected officials will continue to do what they’ve been doing the last couple of years: wait for more answers.
