The USW is seeking aid for Wheeling-Pittsburgh.

Warning that 8,200 jobs and the largest bankruptcy in the history of American steelmaking hang in the balance, the United Steelworkers pressed New York bankers to help bail out floundering Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker is asking for breaks on the repayment terms covering more than $500 million in long-term loans. Officials of the nation’s eighth-largest steel producer have been tight-lipped about their protracted financial crisis. USW negotiator Paul Rusen, however, has quoted Wheeling-Pittsburgh Chairman Dennis Carney as saying that a filing under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is imminent without the help of creditors and employees.