Steelworkers mourn hundreds of Region mill workers who have died on the job

United Steelworkers Local 1010 Safety Chair Jayson Culp was clearing scrap out of the way with a forklift on the floor of an electrical furnace at the Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor steel mill in 2019.

He had to jolt some of the stuck scrap free "with a few spirited collisions" from the forklift and it fell into the furnace. What he didn't know is there was electrical carbon behind the scrap metal, resulting in an immediate and huge chemical reaction.

"As soon as that happened there was a bright light of more than 2,900 degrees. There was a flame that shot out of that 5-by-5 opening," he said. "It engulfed me in flames. There was no windshield, no face shield."

After a few too many seconds, he jumped off the forklift.

"We all like to think we can handle ourselves when things are hectic but sometimes you are like a deer in the headlights," he said. "I looked back at the forklift. The tire were on fire. The horses were on fire. The seat was on fire."

He checked himself for any slag or molten steel. He was not wearing a protective silver uniform at the time.

"I remember burning on my ears, neck, hands and legs," he said. "I was out of work for three months after that with various burns in various places. I heard horrific stories of injuries and fatalities from my grandfather after he retired from Inland. When my father retired from Burns Harbor in the 1980s, he had stories about steam burns and other accidents in the plant. But nothing prepares you for when it actually happens. But I recovered and I survived and it could have been much worse."

After the accident, the mill started putting in windows at electrical furnaces and giving steelworkers protective equipment for their head and neck.

"That incident was pretty bad but it was nothing compared to a call I got notifying me about a fatality in the plant," he said. "Talk about a sinking feeling. Family, friends and loved ones have their world turned upside down in a second. Everything changes from that moment forward. I've been directly involved in that experience three times. Whether one or 100, it's horrible every time."

Culp urged steelworkers to be safe on the job at a Workers Memorial Day ceremony at USW Local 1010 in Hammond's Hessville neighborhood Thursday.

"We need to remember our losses and our pain but learn as much as we can from our losses," he said. "Taking care of ourselves is the most important job we have."

The union local, which represents workers at the former Inland Steel mill on the east side of Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor in East Chicago, held a memorial ceremony to mourn the dead Thursday. Surviving family members laid down roses before a granite memorial wall to remember their loved ones while a string quartet played a mournful dirge.

Outgoing USW Local 1010 President Don Seifert, who's retiring and will be succeeded in May, said he was only the second president in the union's history to serve a full term with no fatalities.

"Some people would say he's taking credit for being fatality-free but it's more building of the accomplishments of those you follow," he said. "As president, I do not want to see a name added to that wall. I want to ensure the safety of our members and advance that goal every day. No other name of the fallen should be forever etched into that wall."

United Steelworkers International President Dave McCall recalled working with Kenneth "Buster" Gish, the last steelworker to be killed on the job at Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor in 2015.

"I had worked with Kenny for years," he said. "He died doing a job we did dozens of times every day. It was a tragic death that never had to occur. We work hard to establish procedures that will save lives."

But deaths remain too commonplace at factories, McCall said. Twenty-three deaths took place at workplaces represented by the USW last year, he said.

"The details of the deaths are different but workplace safety was deficient in all of them," he said. 

More needs to be done to prevents deaths and traumatic injuries, he said. 

"We only have one OSHA inspector for every 79,000 workers in the country," he said. "Workers should be able to earn a paycheck for themselves and their families without risking injury, illness or death. The job is never finished. We have to remain constant and vigilant to ensure safety to protect our union brothers and sisters while we mourn the loss of all the victims."

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan recalled attending Morton High School next door and being told many graduates would go directly to the mills.

"The epitome of a union is to ensure you can make a living in a safe working environment," he said. "We gather together today to remember those lives we've lost in the mills. We're standing on hallowed ground in this union hall. It's more than just a place we gather to have events and meetings. It's where we find family and realize the value of brothers and sisters having events. It was where we come together for solidary."

Steel mills have been central to Northwest Indiana for decades, said Mrvan, who noted his grandfather was a steelworker.

"We're here to memorialized individuals," he said. "They were family. They were friends. They were neighbors. One way we honor them is with safety, making sure that each and every moment we say we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. It's vitally important we embrace families that have lost loved ones."

Workplace safety is an issue everyone can agree on.