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A Union's Support of Biden Does Little To Save Members' Jobs in Pennsylvania
Townhall.com ^ | April 7, 2021 | Salena Zito

Posted on 04/07/2021 3:40:37 AM PDT by Kaslin

ROARING SPRING, Pennsylvania -- When the Appvion Inc. paper mill plant shut its doors for good on April 1, putting 293 people out of work, it marked the first significant manufacturing loss in this state since President Joe Biden took office.

"We were all completely blindsided," said state Sen. Judy Ward, who claims she and other local officials had no hint that the plant, founded in 1866, was in danger of shuttering.

If you received a stimulus check in the mail, there's a good chance the men and women who work here produced the paper it was printed on. And yet there will be no stimulus for this factory, which produces carbonless security paper for official documents like car titles and house deeds.

Of the 293 jobs lost, 250 of them will be union; the rest are management. The average person here makes around $67,000 a year, based on a 49-hour workweek.

"When 300 people lose good-paying jobs, it's not just 300 people that are adversely affected," said Stephen McKnight, CEO and president of the local Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation.

"For every one job lost, an additional four to seven jobs outside the company are hurt, too. The long-term impact is even worse, costing a region millions of dollars that used to go directly into the community, schools and businesses."

Mitchell Becker, president of the local branch of United Steelworkers, the union that endorsed Biden for president, said he thought his job -- which he's kept for 25 years -- was safe.

"Last year, we started to have layoffs, more than we have ever had since 1972," said 55-year-old Becker. But "we never thought we'd close; we just thought we would be sold."

Last month, he walked into what he thought was a routine labor management meeting to discuss plant issues -- and instead received a brief and brutal announcement.

"The mill leadership, including management from Wisconsin, just told us that we're closing down on April 1. And then they got up and left the room and let us sit there to vent to each other."

Biden's vocal support of unions, including a group of Amazon employees in Alabama, has done little to stem the loss of blue-collar jobs in America. Last week, Ford Motors announced a plan to build their new vehicles in Mexico instead of Ohio, and the United Auto Workers, which also endorsed Biden in 2020, blasted the move.

In 2018, Appvion was sold to a private equity group. Now, they have decided to sell off their carbonless paper business to another corporation. Calls to Appvion's management, based in Appleton, Wisconsin, were not returned, but in its official statement, the company blamed the plant's closure on restrictions caused by COVID-19.

Locals claim that's just the half of it. They also speculate that inevitable climate change demands from the Biden administration would have forced Appvion to make costly upgrades, like when the plant underwent an expensive retrofit so it could meet new emissions standards set by the Obama administration.

With Biden pledging to make environmental justice an integral part of every aspect of his administration, many believe Appvion saw the writing on the wall -- and decided to bail.

"I've actually seen that in some other companies in my district; as a business, you look down the road, and you have to be prepared for anything," said Ward. "And if you look at these tighter environmental controls, that has to be a concern."

Sitting squarely in the center of this picturesque town, the plant's gentle hum can be heard as you approach it from state Route 867, symbolizing work, prosperity and stability for the people who live and work here. Church steeples and Victorian-era homes line the streets around the factory, like stately sentinels guarding it.

If the plant closes, the town of 2,400 will be down to two major employers: a trucking company and a limestone quarry, both locally owned.

Chris McNally, 48, was just six years out of high school when he started work at the plant. His mom worked there; so did his great uncle and his great grandfather and now his son-in-law.

"Hiring family is encouraged because people know that comes with a lineage of a good work ethic," said McNally, vice president of the local United Steelworkers union. "People rarely call off work here."

The fact that the plant is owned by a company many states away likely made it easier for them to pull the plug, said Ward.

"It used to be businesses had an owner or a board of directors who lived in the same towns as their employees; they attended the same church services; their children were involved in sports; they were invested," she said. "Now they live far away, and it is easier to turn out the lights and walk away because there is no societal pressure to try to remain invested in restructuring to save the plant."

Locals are not totally without hope. Some interested buyers have toured the plant, but that's all the workers know. In the meantime, they are facing the one thing they fear the most: silence.

"For 155 years, that hum meant people were working," said Becker.

Becker remains a staunch supporter of Biden and said he'd love to see the president come here and talk to his union brothers and sisters.

"I would try to explain to him we really need his help, we really need that level playing field he always talks about," he said. "Fair trade does not mean free trade, and if he comes through with that promise for that level playing field, well ... we can manufacture better than any other place in the world."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bidenadmin; layoffs; pennsylvania; unions; unionworkers
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first 1-2021-38 next last

1 posted on 04/07/2021 3:40:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Surprise!!


2 posted on 04/07/2021 3:51:24 AM PDT by ronnie raygun
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To: Kaslin

Where to begin...

The Stupid is breathtaking.

Trump worked furiously to protect these idiots, but like stubborn mules, they stick with Biden? Thinking that somehow he’s on their side?

Reap what you sowed fools. Your children will hate you for it.


3 posted on 04/07/2021 3:55:21 AM PDT by Regulator (It's Fraud, Jim)
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To: Kaslin

“Joe” Happens.


4 posted on 04/07/2021 3:57:15 AM PDT by mcmuffin (Jan. 20, 2017, Thank God!)
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To: Kaslin

You remain a member of the Union in good standing
Cept your job moved to Vietnam and the Company is not paying foe your re-location


5 posted on 04/07/2021 4:05:40 AM PDT by Steven Tyler
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To: Regulator

“Becker remains a staunch supporter of Biden ...”

I think I see the problem.


6 posted on 04/07/2021 4:09:37 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Kaslin

I would like to read an article one day that gives me all the pertinent details in the first paragraph and let me decide if I want to get into the minutia.

Also- fjb


7 posted on 04/07/2021 4:11:13 AM PDT by GeneralisimoFranciscoFranco (I love liberals. They taste like chicken.)
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To: Kaslin

Serves ‘em right


8 posted on 04/07/2021 4:12:36 AM PDT by Kevmo (The tree of liberty is thirsty.)
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To: Kaslin

Stupid is supposed to hurt.

L


9 posted on 04/07/2021 4:14:36 AM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is. , )
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To: Kaslin
Schadefreund. Now, too late, you learn what you mean to your dicktator master. NOTHING.
10 posted on 04/07/2021 4:16:44 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (No matter what, resist and stop the agenda of blow bidet and hairass the whore)
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To: Kaslin

Oh well, you lay down with Satan you get screwed in more ways than one.


11 posted on 04/07/2021 4:18:40 AM PDT by MissEdie (Be the Light in Someone's Darkness.)
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To: GeneralisimoFranciscoFranco

They are paid by the column-inch.


12 posted on 04/07/2021 4:20:33 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Kaslin
Becker remains a staunch supporter of Biden and said he'd love to see the president come here and talk to his union brothers and sisters.

"I would try to explain to him we really need his help, we really need that level playing field he always talks about," he said. "Fair trade does not mean free trade, and if he comes through with that promise for that level playing field, well ... we can manufacture better than any other place in the world."


This person is a dumbass, and is going to have to learn the hard way.
13 posted on 04/07/2021 4:21:55 AM PDT by JamesP81 (The Democrat Party is a criminal organization.)
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To: JamesP81

He sure is, and I doubt that he will learn


14 posted on 04/07/2021 4:24:17 AM PDT by Kaslin (Joe BidenHe should have watchte will Especial never be my President, and neither will Kamala Harris)
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To: Kaslin

It’s not a problem for the Democrats. Now these people will go on public assistance, which will make them even more loyal to the Democratic party.


15 posted on 04/07/2021 4:25:40 AM PDT by SeeSharp
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To: Kaslin

Reminds me of the Union coal miners that supported Obama, then lost their jobs.


16 posted on 04/07/2021 4:28:10 AM PDT by MCF (If my home can't be my Castle, then it will be my Alamo)
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To: Kaslin

Rank an file union members vote Republican. They left the Democrat plantation a log time ago.


17 posted on 04/07/2021 4:31:26 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: JamesP81

Becker remains a staunch supporter of Biden and said he’d love to see the president come here and talk to his union brothers and sisters

Play stupid games win stupid prizes.....


18 posted on 04/07/2021 4:34:30 AM PDT by slapshot (Coke wants me to act less white? Well I will buy less Coke- Get woke go broke-)
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To: Kaslin

You reap what you sew...


19 posted on 04/07/2021 4:36:26 AM PDT by Shady (Prince Andrew must be dethroned...ASAP.. )
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To: Kaslin

Read somewhere that the area went heavily for Trump..no?


20 posted on 04/07/2021 4:37:08 AM PDT by rrrod (6)
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