When LTV Steel Corp. was forced to close in 2001, United Way helped many of the company’s employees through the tough times.
Today, many of those workers are employed at Mittal Steel USA, and they are passionate about giving back to the community that gave to them.
“We have a corporate social responsibility that sets the overarching goals for all of the plants, and then we follow suit,” says Terry Fedor, general manager of the Cleveland steel producer.
An annual participant in the Harvest for Hunger and United Way campaigns, Mittal Steel provided $10,000 to help Lake County flood victims and sent employees to Long Beach, Miss., to help rebuild the city, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Last year, in addition to cash support, the company also donated $86,491 in labor, equipment and material to assist the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland.
“The children and the education are big to us because that’s where our work force is coming from in the future,” Fedor says. “If you want to be a sustainable company, you have to have a sustainable, reliable work force that’s well-educated.”
Mittal Steel also considers community service programs as team-building exercises. Work teams often approach management with ideas for helping local, nonprofit organizations because they know the executives will support their efforts.
“It has to be enjoyable for people,” Fedor says. “If you demand it, if you push too hard, it kind of turns people off. We have a lot of leaders within our plant that’ll take up a cause and go year-round. That’s hard work. … We get overwhelming response. A lot of it is just asking the people and working right with them. They like to work together as a team.”
The company also has made more than $430,000 in charitable donations to a diverse range of organizations and has contributed significant resources, time and effort to numerous causes.
Fedor calls the people of Northeast Ohio a “tremendous untapped resource.”
“When they sense a need and a worthwhile cause, they’ll step up to the plate,” he says.
HOW TO REACH: Mittal Steel USA, (216) 429-6000 or www.mittalsteel.com