Joliet nurses fight hospital downsizing. October 1, 2026 Nurses in Joliet, Illinois fight job cuts. Fight Back! News Joliet, IL - Dozens of nurses and their supporters rallied in the pouring rain September 30 to call attention to Prime Healthcare's closing of the Obstetrics and Special Care Nursery departments at Saint Joseph Hospital in Joliet, Illinois. Prime Healthcare is a nationwide "for-profit" corporation that is known for eliminating services that are not making enough money. These cuts affect working-class poor people the most. Since acquiring Saint Joseph in March 2025, Prime has closed the inpatient pediatric unit, closed a 30-bed acute care for the elderly unit for a year, closed the post-surgical unit and is seeking to permanently close pediatric inpatient services. According to 35-year Saint Joseph Hospital Registered Nurse Kim Craig, the matter is made worse, "because as doctors retired, they never replaced them." Saint Joseph Hospital is licensed to 489 beds, but according to the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) they operate at 195 to 225 beds per day because of Prime Healthcare cuts. But a core of registered nurses, members of the INA, are not taking it. On Wednesday, September 30, they rallied with community members calling for Prime Healthcare to not leave the 153,000 residents of the fourth-largest city in Illinois without critically needed healthcare. "This is the last day for our unit to be open, we are officially closed as of tomorrow morning," said Kim Craig, who works in the Special Care Nursery, "It's horrible; half of our staff has not been placed. But the biggest part is, what are we going to do with all our moms and babies now? There is nobody in the Joliet area." Prime Healthcare is making major cuts to the only hospital in Joliet. Warehouses moved into Joliet, staffed by non-union subcontractors for Walmart, Amazon and other corporate giants. 4000 union employees at U.S. Steel and the 7000 union Caterpillar workers have lost their jobs, as both of those plants closed. Joliet Township Supervisor Cesar Guerrero talked about the union spirit in Joliet which lives on inside this core of INA leaders, who are fighting to preserve decent jobs, but also fighting for access to healthcare for Joliet. The rally also heard from former INA staffer Michelle Couturier who was involved in organizing the INA strike against Saint Joseph Hospital in the early 1990s. This strike led to INA's first contract with Saint Joseph Hospital. Couturier talked about the militant tactics and innovative strategies that the mostly women nurses used to win the contract. The day before the rally, INA showed up at the hospital to bargain the effects of the most recent cuts. Even though Prime is legally required to bargain, they instead called the police on the union. Fortunately, the police that showed up did not make arrests and told Prime to work it out with the union. "This community and our patients deserve a hospital within Joliet to serve Joliet. The mothers and babies of Joliet deserve to be able to deliver in a place that is safe, close to home and easily accessible," concluded Christina Vanoskey, a Labor and Delivery Unit registered nurse.

METALCON, U.S. Steel to celebrate anniversaries in Orlando. Posted By: Mark Robins September 29, 2026 U.S. Steel is celebrating 125 years of steelmaking, innovation and American manufacturing in 2026. The milestone will be recognized as part of METALCON's 35th anniversary, October 7-9 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. As the largest international event in the metal construction and design industry, METALCON will recognize U.S. Steel's longstanding role in the steel industry and the company's continued focus on innovation for the future. At METALCON, U.S. Steel (booth 1077) is hosting Steel on the Move Experience, an exhibit celebrating 125 years of innovation, craftsmanship and leadership in American steelmaking. Located in the center of the exhibit hall, this interactive experience brings to life the story of steel and its essential role in building infrastructure and products that power everyday life. For more than a century, steel has helped shape everyday life in America - from the infrastructure that connects communities to the vehicles, appliances and buildings people rely on every day. "For 125 years, U.S. Steel has helped build the infrastructure, industries and products that move America forward," said Robert Kopf, Vice President - Sales for U.S. Steel. "What's exciting today is how steel continues to evolve - becoming stronger, lighter and more durable to meet the changing needs of our customers and the next generation of American manufacturing." This evolution combines advances in manufacturing, materials science and process technology, ultimately allowing steelmakers to tailor products for increasingly demanding applications. "Innovation has always been part of steel's story," Kopf said. "Today, advances in technology give us greater ability to engineer steel for our construction customers in all subsegments which provides strength where it is needed, lighter weights for design optimization, and superior corrosion resistance capable of enduring the harshest environments to deliver the performance our customers need." Steel also offers important advantages for a more sustainable future given its ability to be recycled again and again. "Steel's combination of strength, durability and recyclability makes it an incredibly important material for the future," Kopf said. "As our customers' needs continue to evolve, we are focused on developing steel solutions that can help them meet their performance and sustainability goals." These attributes are especially relevant to the construction and design industries, where material performance, durability and long-term value are critical considerations. "Steel has a long history of looking ahead, anticipating challenges, and playing a tremendously important role in the products and infrastructure of the future," Kopf says.

U.S. Navy contract renews history with Orange shipbuilding. Margaret Toal, For the Record | Last updated Sep 22, 2026 8:19pm Margaret Toal Conrad Shipbuilding along the Sabine River has navy contract to build a prototype of a new landing craft. The contract is for two of the landing craft, with the possibility of two more. Orange is returning to its shipbuilding past of supplying the U.S. Navy with vessels as Conrad Shipbuilding along the Sabine River has navy contract to build a prototype of a new landing craft. Conrad is at 710 Market Street south of the Orange County Courthouse and east of Border Street. The contract is for two of the landing craft, with the possibility of two more. The navy reports three different shipyards, Conrad, along with one in Alabama, and the other in Brownsville, Texas, will build prototypes under a total budget of $280 million. The contract could bring $50 million or more to the Conrad Orange yard. The Orange yard is 25 acres along the river, which is part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. It has six construction bays and 115,000 square feet of enclosed work space that allows a project to continue without a weather delay. The U.S. Navy gave the contracts through the "Prototype Other Transaction" description. The other two companies are Boat Builders, Inc, of Coden, Alabama, and Saronic Technologies of Brownsville. In a news release, the U.S. Navy wrote: "By selecting three distinct shipyards, the Navy is expanding its shipbuilding industrial base capacity and building a resilient 'second source' of supply for landing craft," said William F. Mahan, who is performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. "Other Transaction prototype authority allows the Navy to move at the speed of relevance." The prototype LCU 1700 will replace the currently-used LCU 1610, which have been in use for more than 50 years. Boat repairs and building have been a part of Orange County's history since the first European immigrants made their homesteads here in the 1820s. At that time, boats, from those with sails to rafts and dugouts were used for travel through the county because of its waterways. The most prominent of those yards was Levingston Shipbuilding, which George Levingston and his brothers started in 1859 to make sailboats and paddle-wheel steamers. Orange County was with Texas and seceded from the United States to join the Confederate States. Levingston Shipbuilding converted boats to serve the confederacy. Orange County came back to the United States and in World War I yards here built wooden ships for the U.S. Navy. Then, the U.S. Navy brought the biggest boom the county has ever seen as World War II was beginning. A U.S. Navy-U.S. Steel joint project led to the construction of a giant shipyard and dredging of the Sabine River to fit the new war vessels into the river to send them downstream to the Gulf and out into the world. Locally-owned shipyards like Levingston, then owned by E.W. Brown, Jr., of Orange, plus Burton, and Weaver shipbuilding companies also had contracts for Navy ships. After the war, shipbuilding continued with Consolidated Steel becoming American Bridge. Levingston pioneered designs including building the scientific exploration ship Glomar Challenger, and four Staten Island ferries. The oil bust of the early 1980s basically brought the end to Levingston, and even American Bridge closed. Through the years, other companies have bought and operated the old Consolidated Steel-American Bridge yard at the end of Division Avenue and east of the LSCO campus. Under one of those companies, part of the top of the U.S.S. New York was constructed at the yard. The ship, commissioned in 2009, was in honor of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks with melted steel from the Twin Towers being used in parts of the ship. In 1974, the Clary family started Orange Shipbuilding along Market Street about 1990, U.S. Representative Charles Wilson helped the company get contracts for U.S. Navy vessels.