(The Center Square) – The company behind the eponymous “Steel City” may be a Pittsburgh icon no more.

U.S. Steel, founded in the city more than 120 years ago, said Wednesday that without Japanese-owned Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition, it would relocate out of Pittsburgh – dealing an economic and symbolic blow to Pennsylvania.

The comment comes as multiple media reports suggest the Biden administration will soon collect on a promise to block the deal, a union-backed bipartisan move aimed at keeping the famed company American-owned.

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., chastised U.S. Steel for turning its back on union workers “who built the company” in favor of cheaper, unorganized labor in other states.

“They can dress it up however they want, but their cartoonish anti-union behavior puts them in good company with the robber barons they mimic,” he said. “Their business model seems to be about breaking the union.”

The United Steel Workers Union represents 850,000 workers across the country, including some from Nippon, of which 4,000 work in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Virginia and West Virginia.

Not every worker opposes the deal, however. On Wednesday, thousands of U.S. Steel employees rallied outside the company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh in support of the acquisition as a last-ditch effort to save thousands of jobs.

“We want elected leaders and other key decision makers to recognize the benefits of the deal as well as the unavoidable consequences if the deal fails,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Steel David B. Burritt.

He asked other state and federal elected officials, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, to get on board.

A federal block means the company will “pivot away” from its blast furnaces, including the one at Mon Valley Works, which is slated for a $1 billion upgrade – pending the deal’s approval.

Deluzio said corporate leaders need to show more respect and care “about something – anything – beyond just chasing the cheapest and weakest labor and environmental rules.”

An economic impact study from the Pennsylvania Economy League found that, in 2024, the state’s $33.1 billion steel industry employs nearly 31,000 workers in iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing.