Steelworkers Give Bush a Hearty Backing

President Bush joined more than 1,000 steelworkers for a family picnic Sunday and won their hearty approval as he vowed to protect the domestic steel industry against illegal foreign imports, calling it a matter of “national security.”

The president also expressed concern that the manufacturing sector is “a lot slower than I would hope,” noting that the U.S. economy has grown “at a paltry 1%” over the last 12 months.

“It worries me, first and foremost, for the effect that’s going to have on the families all across America,” Bush said, adding that his administration is “taking action.”

As examples, he cited debt reduction, the $1.35-trillion tax cut and the pursuit of a fair trade policy that is “going to have a level playing field as its component.”

The president made his pledge to maintain a strong domestic steel industry during a 12-minute speech here before flying to Williamsport, Pa., to attend the Little League World Series championship game.

There, Bush threw out the ceremonial first ball and was inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame in recognition of the fact that he is the first president to have played Little League baseball.

The day trip comes as the president winds down his monthlong “working vacation” at his ranch near Crawford, Texas. Bush is scheduled to return to Washington on Thursday.

Accompanied by First Lady Laura Bush, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas J. Ridge, Bush spoke after sharing a lunch table with nine workers and their families and wolfing down kielbasa, potato salad and baked beans.

Politics lurked just beneath the surface of Sunday’s picnic.

Allegheny County voted heavily for Democrat Al Gore in last year’s presidential election, as many steelworkers swallowed their disappointment with the Clinton administration, which did not act on their plea to investigate suspected “dumping” of underpriced foreign steel in the United States.

The former vice president narrowly carried this battleground state, but many analysts--and the White House--think the Keystone State will be up for grabs again in 2004.

In his remarks at the picnic, held on the gigantic asphalt parking lot of the Irvin Works steel plant near Pittsburgh, Bush did not forget to remind the unionists that it was he who recently ordered an International Trade Commission investigation of alleged steel dumping.

“Steel is an important job issue; it’s also an important national security issue,” the president said. “And that is why we took the actions we took in this administration.”

Bush also said “it makes sense, common sense” to avoid becoming “over-reliant” on foreign sources of steel because “it can easily affect the capacity of our military to be well supplied.”

Even before the president took the podium, the audience was well prepped by both Tom Usher, U.S. Steel Co.’s chief executive officer, and Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America.

“At long last we have someone in the White House who understands the crisis in the steel industry,” Usher said.

Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who also attended the picnic, said the Clinton administration so upset some steelworkers that those he represents in eastern Ohio held a mock ceremony last year to take down photographs of Clinton and Gore from the walls of their union hall.