Steel generations XIX – Meet Wayne DeMarco

“My name is Wayne DeMarco and I am currently working on temporary assignment at ArcelorMittal’s Burns Harbor facilities. This allowed me to move back in with my parents who still live in the Southeast Chicago neighborhood that I grew up in.  Steel defined the neighborhood I grew up in which means that it had a solid impact on my family…

My great grandfather and both my grandfathers worked in steel.  An ironic twist to this was that both grandfathers were on the scene during the Memorial Day confrontation in 1937, one grandfather on the inside of the fence protecting the property while the other was in the crowd confronting the police.  A plaque remains to commemorate the events of that day and it is my hope that we will never have to erect another memorial plaque like it.

My parent’s generation was also heavily involved in steelmaking.  My mother, two of my uncles and two of my father’s cousins, all of them were at some point working in steel.  When one of my uncles passed away, his wife became part of the first group of female hourly employees hired by the facility.

Just like me, my siblings also passed through steelmaking jobs at one time or another. In all, over 30 years of my career have been spent with ArcelorMittal or a predecessor company. Despite the ups and downs, steel has provided me with a good livelihood and the career challenges that have helped me grow as a professional.

As you can see, my family’s history is deeply rooted in steel. One of my nephews works for a steel processor that also handles ArcelorMittal product from time to time.  That makes it four or five generations depending on how you look at it…”

Picture: Wayne DeMarco together with his mother Nancy (left) and his aunt Marie (right) in front of the Memorial Day monument