Steel workers raise funds to honor fallen ArcelorMittal-Burns Harbor mill co-workers
June 11, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
By Jeff Manes | Source: Post-Tribune
PORTER — Nearly 300 American-made Harley-Davidsons were parked outside of Leroy’s Hot Stuff recently.
Many of the bikes were owned by members of trade unions who had gathered for a poker run and raffle.
“A good portion of these bikers here today work in the mill,” said Stefan Cervik. “We want to have a memorial built for the steel workers from ArcelorMittal’s Burns Harbor plant who have been killed on the job.”
“The monument will have the deceased workers’ names on it,” Cervik said. “God forbid, we’ll be able to add names to it if necessary. We’ve had two people lose their lives just recently.
“One of the fellas who got killed out there was a good friend of mine — David Reeves. He’s sorely missed. I went to the union hall to see what we have to remember people by; there’s an outdated plaque with gold name tags. I just felt, as great a union as we are, we could do better.
“I asked my union president at Local 6787 (Paul Gipson) if we could have something done. He agreed to help me, but I had to raise the funds myself. I’ve been on this quest now since about 2005.”
Stephan Dubovich lives in Hebron, but grew up in Gary. He retired from “Ma Beth” — Bethlehem Steel, which owned the Burns Harbor plant before ArcelorMittal. He was on the job when one of his workmates lost her life in the coke plant.
“You feel so helpless,” Dubovich said. “It’s a terrible feeling. They had to cut a hole out of the bottom of the hopper to let all the coal run out so they could recover her body.
“What are you going to do? There was a young kid who died right there in that same place — dust explosion. He burned to death.”
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