Contact: Donnie Blatt – 614-888-6052 (office); 740-504-8900 (cell) or dblatt@usw.org
PITTSBURGH – The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that a delegation from Local 5724 in Clarington, Ohio delivered approximately 9,000 petition signatures to Gov. John Kasich urging him to bring the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), American Electric Power (AEP) and Ormet together to negotiate a power supply arrangement that will allow the bankrupt company’s aluminum smelter in Hannibal to resume operations.
The delegation, which included retirees, laid-off workers and family members, also invited Kasich to the union hall next week to help distribute food and toys donated by Steelworkers from Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania to workers and their children.
USW District 1 Director David McCall said that communities throughout the Ohio Valley are already suffering, and permanently closing the smelter will cost the state millions in lost income tax revenue, unemployment benefits, retraining and social services.
“These jobs support families and sustain communities, and Ohio desperately needs more of them – not fewer,” McCall said. “We simply cannot afford to allow AEP to drive Ormet out of business.”
Last month, the union launched a multimedia campaign via the web site, www.saveohiojobs.org, to generate signatures for the petition asking for the governor’s help to save Ormet. The USW will continue to collect and deliver signatures until the matter is resolved.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.
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