Union: US Steel To Recall 800 Workers In Canada

The Hamilton plant employed about 1,700 people before some 700 workers elected to retire early and slightly more than 800 were laid off in waves starting in November.

U.S. Steel plans to restart ovens at the plant used to make coke, a fuel used in blast furnaces, "and we're going to ship it to the Granite City plant," said Gerstenberger, referring to a U.S. Steel facility in Illinois.

The company has notified union representatives that it plans to restart the Granite City plant, where more than 2,000 people have been laid off, said Randy Virgin, contract coordinator for local chapters of the United Steelworkers union. But the timing remains unclear, he said.

"It's hard to tell how many (workers) might be brought back," Virgin said.