hanging on/facilities/collection plate/pep talks/passed

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentences?

1. Steel plants across the country are hanging on until the new stimulus package kicks in with its over $100 billion for building things like highways, bridges, and power grids, and its promise to get workers back into their hard hats.

steel plants are hanging on = steel plants are at a deadlock (there is a standstill in the steel industry)

2. Instead, the plants are running at 50 percent [capacity]: facilities look like ghost towns, and yet, while well over 25,000 steelworkers have been laid off around the country, not a single worker at Nucor has.

facilities = equipment, works

3. Now they're dipping into savings, delaying retirement, cutting back on everything from food to the collection plate at church.

collection plate = a shallow receptacle for collection in church

4. In pep talks, the employees keep asking, "When will the tough times end?"

pep talks = agitation

5. The package Congress passed this week includes a "buy American" clause that the steel industry fought hard for.

passed = to be approved or adopted

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[Raymott]

dear teachers,

would you be kind enough to tell me whether i am right with my interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentences?

1. Steel plants across the country are hanging on until the new stimulus package kicks in with its over $100 billion for building things like highways, bridges, and power grids, and its promise to get workers back into their hard hats.

Steel plants are hanging on = steel plants are at a deadlock (there is a standstill in the steel industry) no. imagine a rock-climber who has fallen, and is hanging on to a tree, waiting for rescue. steel plants are clinging to survival in the hope of a better future. Yes, there is a standstill, but the steel plants haven't let go yet.

3. Now they're dipping into savings, delaying retirement, cutting back on everything from food to the collection plate at church.

Collection plate = a shallow receptacle for collection in church.
yes. A plate was used when i was young and used to go to mass. But some churches use a bag or box of some sort so that other people can't see how much (or how little) you're giving.

4. In pep talks, the employees keep asking, "when will the tough times end?"

pep talks = agitation. no. pep talks are used to generate enthusiasm and motivation. In this case, i imagine that that the pep talk is being given by the boss, and it's the workers who are agitating.

r.