CHARLEROI, Pa. ā A century-old glass factory is closing, putting 300 people out of a job, and Dave McCormick, the Republican challenging Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, wants to save it.
āIām here today to stand in solidarity with these workers in the fight to keep these jobs here,ā McCormick told a crowd of workers, retirees and their families Friday.Ā
Anchor Hocking announced this month plans to shutter its Corelle Brand factory that makes iconic Pyrex glassware āĀ and has supported the local economy since 1892.
The plant survived the steel-mill and coal-mine shutdowns that hollowed out Mon Valleyās industrial communities in the 1980s.
Now its corporate owner is dismantling equipment and moving to Ohio ā but the workers are aiming to stop it, enlisting whatever help they can.
Republican Dave McCormick rallied for the Corelle Brand factory in Charleroi, Pa. on Friday. Ethan Dodd
United Steelworkers Local 53G Vice President Daniele Byrne, whose grandfather worked in the factory and who met her husband there, said the shutdown āwould cripple over 300 families and help destroy the pride of the Mon Valley.ā
Byrne said she called many people to āhelp save usā but didnāt hear back. āDave McCormick was the first person to offer to come to Charleroi.ā
McCormick recalled the struggle of his friendsā parents after the carpet factory shut down in Bloomsburg, Pa., where he went to high school: āI know what happens when the anchor for a community shrinks or goes away.ā
āI donāt want to see this plant leave Charleroi, and I donāt want to see these employees lose their jobs. I will keep fighting for them until a victory is at hand,ā he declared.
Dave McCormick admires a Pyrex measuring cup a worker gave him. Ethan Dodd
The glass factory was the second stop on McCormickās Price of Poor Leadership Tour, which has allowed the former hedge-fund executive to spotlight the concerns of working-class Pennsylvanians and take shots at Casey, whoās spent nearly 18 years in the Senate.
The strategy seems to be working ā three new polls find Caseyās longtime lead narrowing,Ā with one showing him ahead by just 1 point.
McCormick arrived in a massive campaign bus and shook hands with workers, who gave him Pyrex products, including the ubiquitous glass measuring cup.
Dozens of workers formed a wall of signs behind him that read, āKEEP MAKING PYREX IN CHARLEROI,ā with yellow signs from the McCormick campaign peeking through: āBOB STAYS, PA PAYS.ā
Erin Guzik, whose boyfriend is a plant supervisor, told The Post, āI donāt know how Iām going to raise my child in a town without industry.ā
Erin Guzik, an undecided voter, is leaning towards Dave McCormick because he stood with workers in Charleroi. Ethan Dodd
The veterinary nurse is undecided about who sheāll vote into the White House and Senate. She went for the Green Party in 2016 and President Biden in 2020.
But sheās āleaning more towards Dave McCormick now that he showed up and is supporting us,ā she said.
Guzik said she called numerous Democratic offices, including those of Casey, Sen. John Fetterman and Gov. Josh Shapiro, and never heard back.Ā
āTheyāre supporters of the Mon Valley and industry being kept in the valley, so Iām surprised they werenāt here,ā she said.Ā
Though sheād welcome Caseyās support, she said, āI canāt name one thing that heās done thatās helped me.ā
Casey sent a letter last week to Anchor Hocking CEO Mark Eichhorn and asked why the company has chosen to āupend the lives of Pennsylvania workersā and how it got the regulatory approval to take control of the factory. Its private-equity parent companyās request was denied last year.
Union leader Daniele Byrne points to the factory its owner announced plans to close. Ethan Dodd
Caseyās letter echoed the concerns of Byrne, the local union leader, who accused Anchor Hockings of āprice fixing and manipulating the marketā and demanded an investigation from the Federal Trade Commission to āsee if that was a crooked deal.ā
Anchor Hocking did not respond to a comment request.
McCormick the The Post he supports an FTC investigation into Anchor Hockingās decision to close up shop here: āIād like to see the reasoning of it, and the people here whose lives are affected by that decision have every right to understand the reasoning as well.āĀ
Workers certainly agreed.
āThe FTC should have stopped that sale,ā Don Lutes, a machinist, yelled out from the crowd. āGo question the FTC!ā
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey ignored factory workersā requests to show up in person. Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
In his remarks, McCormick repeatedly ripped Casey on the plant closure ā and on problems across the Keystone State.
āSky-high inflation is putting pressure on every business,ā he said. āWeāve had too much onerous regulation, and Bob Casey hasnāt done anything about it.ā
āBob Casey has failed you every step of the way,ā McCormick added. āHe talks a lot about manufacturing jobs, but he hasnāt done a thing to make your jobs easier and keep great opportunities here in Charleroi.ā
Don Lutes, an Obama-Trump voter, appreciated McCormickās in-person support. Ethan Dodd
Casey campaign spokeswoman Kate Smart responded by calling McCormick āthe poster boy for the Wall Street greed that put jobs like those at Anchor Hocking at risk.āĀ
Don Lutes, an Obama-Trump voter, shook McCormickās hand and told The Post he appreciated the candidate being āsupportive.ā
āAnybody can write a letter,ā he said. But āmaking personal appearances makes a world of difference.ā
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