BURNS HARBOR — Countless documentaries have depicted shuttered factories, struggling mill towns and the decline of the Rust Belt.
But a new short documentary, "Relighting the Flame," shows the vitality that still goes on inside steel mills like those that line the Lake Michigan lakeshore in Northwest Indiana. The Alliance for American Manufacturing, which is a joint initiative between the United Steelworkers union and some of the country's largest manufacturers, commissioned the film to show how the steel industry remains relevant and thriving despite depictions of Rust Belt decline.
Scores of steelworkers gathered in the Duneland Falls Banquet and Events Center that's attached to the United Steelworkers Local 6787 Union Hall in Burns Harbor to watch the debut of the new short film that was directed by the award-winning filmmaker Carl Kriss and commissioned by Alliance for American Manufacturing. USW 6787 President Pete Trinidad, United Steelworkers International President Dave McCall, who started out at USW Local 6787, Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves and Portage Mayor Austin Bonta were among those in attendance.
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"Driving in from Pittsburgh caused me to reflect on this location and what this film is about. It really did bring back great memories," McCall said. "I thought about how I used to really like getting up at midnight and come to work at this plant when it was 10 or 15 degrees below zero. We have different times in our lives when we have great experiences. A great experience for me was working here in Burns Harbor. Not the best job but a great experience."
McCall is a fourth-generation steelworker whose nephew is a fifth-generation steelworker at USW 6787.
"We've got a great bloodline in my family around making steel," he said. "We've got to get more and more in here to keep the family tradition going."
The film shines a spotlight on the Midwestern steel industry, including with scenes set at at Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor steel mill. It follows local steelworkers Edwin Alcox and Kodie Kinney, takes a look inside the plant and features sweeping aerial drone shots of the industrialized lakefront.
"The film really talks about the success of the steel industry and what we're doing in the industry today moving forward," he said. "It's an important part of the economic success of America, the basic making of steel. It's a great story. In the 1970s and 1980s we were always in an up and down for many reasons. Some were because of trade practices. Some were because of the way we worked. And sometimes because of the decisions management made that weren't in the best interest of the workers of the industry. In 1998 and 1999, we were going through 50 different steel companies filing bankruptcy. We all recognized we had to do something different. This film does not talk about some of those struggles that we went through."
Steelworkers persevered through adversity, McCall said.
"Steelworkers who worked in the industry for years did what they could to save the plants, who made sure the plants are in hot idle mode so they could be restarted when the right owners came along to restart it," he said. "Lots of different steel companies have come and gone but steelworkers have always been the common denominator. We don't just think about the short term. We think about the long term. It's about being productive. It's about being high quality producers and delivering to our customers. That's always been important to steelworkers. We finally found the right partner in Cleveland-Cliffs, who's invested in people and invested in the company and thinks about long-term investments and how we can continue to make steel in this country. So this is the success story. It's the one we ought to be publicizing, the one we ought to talk about."
Conditions at the mill have improved greatly since Cleveland-Cliffs acquired it from ArcelorMittal, Trinidad said. Cleveland-Cliffs has taken care of the mill, even modernizing the break rooms.
"I didn't realize how we were treated by our previous employer until this employer came in," he said. "I never knew employers did that. It was refreshing to be treated like that and respected like that."
The steel industry has been looking better in recent years, McCall said.
"It's not so great we have to wear shades," he said.Â
Steel remains central to Northwest Indiana's identity, Bonta said.
"Every week we get a call from some marketing firm that wants to market Portage... They make suggestions like we can have a lakefront Tiki bar with shrimp as though the shrimp is from Lake Michigan," he said. "I tell them we have an identity for our city and it's that we're a steel town. In Portage, Gary and Burns Harbor and all those towns along the lake, we were built by steel."
The steel mills continue to draw people to Portage, including recently displaced workers from a tin mill in West Virginia, Bonta said.
"Organized labor in general and the steelworkers in particular, you guys led the fight to take that high economic result and make a high quality of life then and now," he said. "You've taken up a fight to keep that quality of life and jobs in the USA. You are defending the country, its national defense and its economy, and the community here. As the mayor of a steel town, I thank you for all you do."
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul, a Rensselaer native, said the hope behind the film was that it would shift perspectives.
"We're trying to change the narrative," he said. "This story tells it beautifully, what the possibilities are with that."
It's being rolled out at screenings around the country and may be made available to high school guidance counselors to show to students interested in steelmaking careers.
"The workforce, you call yourselves union brothers and sisters, works together with us for the benefit of the community," Goncalves said. "We can do something bigger than ourselves. What we're doing in this country is bringing back manufacturing. We are shoving away the complex of inferiority. We're are fighting to show the Midwest is important, that communities like Burns Harbor, Portage, Gary and Middletown, Ohio relevant again."
The documentary can be watched for free online. To see it, visit RelightingTheFlameFilm.com.
A look back at Northwest Indiana businesses that closed in 2023
A look back at Region businesses that closed in 2023
Beer Geeks, one of the Region's first, most beloved and most influential craft beer bars, closed after more than a decade and is being reimagined as a new concept.
The landmark 88-year-old castle-shaped White Castle in Whiting is coming down to be replaced with a newer, larger, more modern White Castle restaurant.Â
A longtime staple in downtown Crown Point poured its last drink.
The longtime Westforth Sports gun shop is closing.
The Silver Line Building Products plant at 16801 Exchange Ave. will be shuttered permanently.
Brewfest in Highland will close in what's been called "an end of an era."
David's Bridal filed for bankruptcy and could close all stores if no buyer emerges to save it.
The 88-year-old Whiting White Castle will be remembered with displays at museums in two different states.
For years, the "millionaire's club" met every morning in the corner booth of the historic 88-year-old White Castle at Indianapolis Boulevard and 119th Street in downtown Whiting. The landmark restaurant served its final slider Tuesday.Â
One of Northwest Indiana's most popular and enduring hobby shops is looking for a buyer after the longtime owner died.
J&L This N That Consignment Shop, a popular thrift store, closed in downtown Whiting after a run of several years.
A Calumet Region institution, Calumet Fisheries on the far South Side of Chicago, is temporarily closed after failing a city health inspection.
Just days after reopening after city health inspectors shut it down, Calumet Fisheries suffered a major fire.
Pepe's Mexican Restaurant is no mas in Valparaiso.
Beer Geeks in Highland rebranded as B-Side Bar & Lounge and then closed within a few months.
Troubled retailer Bed Bath and Beyond will permanently close its Valparaiso location as it shutters more stores nationwide as it looks to restructure and shrink its footprint to save the struggling business.
Peoples Bank has shuttered its branch in downtown Hammond.Â
Viking Artisan Ales will soon pour its last craft beer at its Merrillville taproom.
Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom is closing after 15 years at one of Northwest Indiana's most prominent highway interchanges.
The Chicago Auto Show, the nation's largest auto show, returns to McCormick Place Saturday, running through Feb. 19.