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This story was produced by My UP News correspondent Andrew Lorinsor. Find the original story here.
In a significant visit to the UP, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Assistant Secretary for Mine Health and Safety Chris Williamson toured the Cleveland-Cliffs Tilden mine in Ishpeming.
They say their visit underscores the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting American-made products, enhancing miner safety, and fostering good jobs in the steel supply chain.
“One of the things that’s so obvious is there is a tremendous amount of pride and real skill here every single day at the Tilden Mine, and at Cleveland Cliffs more broadly,” said Sec. Su. “These are working men and women who many of them for generations have come to this mine, worked, built a life, built up their communities.
“As a result of it, that’s really the basic promise of a good job — or what a good job provides — is it allows somebody to go home safely at the end of the day to be able to take off their shoes, to put their keys on the counter, and to breathe a little bit. So they can provide for their family and build a bright future. “That’s why we as an administration are so intent on not just the number of jobs that we create, but making sure that they’re really good jobs.”
During their visit, officials engaged with union leaders, mine workers, and safety experts.
“The whole point, the whole reason why Congress created our agency, and what has been the priority from day one of the Biden-Harris administration, is to make sure that miners like the ones we talked to and spent time with today, that they go home safe and healthy at the end of the day to their families,” said Asst. Sec. Williamson.
Spokespeople for Tilden mine say their operation is crucial for iron ore extraction, and essential for steel manufacturing in the U.S. automobile industry and beyond.
“Everything starts with iron ore in the ground,” said Cliff Smith, Chief Operations Officer for Cleveland Cliffs. “And steel just doesn’t hit our shores or magically appear without starting from iron ore, and the dedicated workforce that we have here is very safe, and very productive. This is what America is all about is good, good-paying, middle-class jobs that have been developed here.”
Asst. Sec. Williamson shared his personal connection, noting that Upper Peninsula mining communities remind him of the one he knew growing up.
“It’s just real special for me,” said Williamson. “As the assistant secretary over MSHA to go to mining communities like this one all throughout the country. We’re here because we care. We want to lift up.
“There’s a great story here. And, people need to know about this. They need to know that the things that they rely on every day start at a mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”
The visit marks both secretaries’ very first trips to the Upper Peninsula, highlights the importance of mining, and reaffirms the focus on miner safety and the livelihoods of those who work in the industry.
As Secretary Su and Williamson engaged with the Cleveland-Cliffs workforce, they said they hope their visit marks a vital step in promoting a safer and more robust American steel supply chain, starting right here, in Ishpeming, Michigan.
