Corporate Greed at its Worst

“Corporate Greed at its Worst”

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) fought tooth and nail with General Motors president Mary Barra over the closing of the Lordstown, Ohio auto plant that ceased production on March 6. He knew that 1,400 permanent well-paying manufacturing jobs would be lost and would have devastating effects on the city that has been building cars for General Motors since 1966.

But Senator Brown was also aware of the ripple effect that would be caused by the loss of these jobs in the Youngstown area.

The Lordstown plant is just the first of five North American plants GM has scheduled for closing in the coming months. More jobs will be lost and thousands of jobs in the supply chain will also disappear.

The steel industry could be hit hard with United Steelworker slowdowns in the Mahoning Valley. It brings back memories of “Black Monday” when 41 years ago Youngstown Sheet and Tube closed its Campbell Works Mill laying off 5,000 steelworkers. During the next five years, almost 50,000 people would lose jobs in steel and related industries in the Youngstown area.

The main issue here is automobiles but Senator Brown, a champion of the steel industry, knows how hard the Lordstown plant closing will be on Ohio steelworkers.

Senator Brown described the closing as “shameful.” GM reaped a massive tax break from last year’s GOP tax bill but did not invest that money in American jobs and moved production to Mexico. Brown called the decision “corporate greed at its worst.”

Jeff Bonior, Staff Writer for the Alliance for American Manufacturing