U.S. Steel is eyeing an April 1 restart of the second of its two blast furnaces at Granite City Works, but it could come sooner, the local steelworkers union president said.

“It's definitely going to be a lot of hard work — but, at the end of the road, it's going to pay off because Nippon has not got to see what we can do with primary operations,” said Craig McKey, who leads United Steelworkers Local 1899.

The recently acquired U.S. Steel, purchased by the Japanese firm Nippon, announced last week it would reignite the blast furnace due to customer demand. The news provided a victory for the Metro East community and steel mill, which many had worried was destined for permanent closure.

McKey said his phone has already been inundated with calls from workers laid off in 2023, when

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