U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are questioning the decision of FreightCar America to close its Roanoke, Va. plant and lay off 200 workers while the company opens a new production facility in Mexico.
The Roanoke workers are represented by TCU-IAM.
“We write to you to register our concern that FreightCar America has chosen to close its manufacturing plant in Roanoke, Virginia, and offshore those jobs,” the senators wrote in a letter addressed to FreightCar CEO James Meyer. “FreightCar America has been a prominent employer in Roanoke for over a decade. The Roanoke community has made significant investments in your company; moving the plant will have a detrimental impact on the hardworking employees at the facility, their families, and the entire Roanoke community.”
The freight car manufacturer announced in July 2019 that its Roanoke facility would close in November 2019. In September 2019, FreightCar America announced it would open a new $25 million plant in Mexico.
“It’s clear that the company was not honest with its workers back when it announced the Roanoke facility’s closure in July,” said TCU Carmen Division President and National Vice President Rich Johnson. “It’s truly sad to see a storied American company mislead its workforce and the general public, only to ship these good-paying union jobs to Mexico. Roanoke is a wonderful community and the loss of these high-wage jobs will be felt throughout the region. The Roanoke facility was known for being productive and profitable – often identified by customers as the preferred manufacturing facility for their orders.”
FreightCar America closed its Danville, Ill. facility in 2017 and its Johnstown, Pa. facility in 2007. The only remaining FreightCar America plant in the United States is in Cherokee, Ala.
Fred Owens, a third-generation worker at FreightCar America in Roanoke and president of TCU-IAM Carmen Division Local 6016 wrote an op-ed in the Roanoke Times entitled, “Our jobs are going to Mexico.”
The Transportation Communications Union (TCU) represents approximately 46,000 workers in the United States, most of whom are in the railroad industry.
Pictured left to right, IAM District 77 Secretary-Treasurer and IAM H.E.L.P.S. Coordinator Ko Vang, Vice President Kera Peterson, and Business Representative John Duerscherl accept FamilyWise Services’ 2019 “Volunteer of the Year” award on behalf of IAM District 77 in Minnesota. Also pictured, FamilyWise Executive Director Ann Gaash.
Minnesota IAM District 77 and the IAM Midwest Territory’s “IAM H.E.L.P.S in the Community” program was recently recognized by a St. Paul nonprofit organization dedicated to serving families inflicted with poverty, substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence.
FamilyWise Services presented District 77 with it’s 2019 “Volunteer of the Year” Award in recognition for the district’s two IAM H.E.L.P.S. events which included cleaning and rehabilitating two FamilyWise facilities located in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area.
The IAM Midwest Territory’s “IAM H.E.L.P.S in the Community” program provides essential support to residents in need throughout the territory. H.E.L.P.S. stands for Honoring, Engaging, Lifting, Providing and Servicing. For more information on IAM H.E.L.P.S., click here
“The Machinists have been a fantastic resource in time and money savings as our volunteers typically do not have the skills required to perform major facility work,” said FamilyWise. “Last fall, they donated and put together a new shed in our backyard, freeing up our parking lot for more families being served in our main office. They secured our bike rack and helped us stabilize a retaining wall keeping our playground in, and used their mechanical skills to repair FamilyWise fencing. The Machinists also bring their family members who help with outdoor cleanup. In past years, they have worked hard to improve our St. Paul Supervised Parenting Time site with rooms specific for babies or adolescents meeting with their non-custodial parent.”
“Our partnership with FamilyWise allows us to not only help and support the community, it also allows us to showcase the diversity of our members’ talents,” said IAM District 77 Directing Business Representative John Steigauf. “These projects give our members and their families an opportunity to have fun and help others in the process – it’s a win-win for all! My congratulations and thanks go out to all who participated in these events.”
IAM District 77 Secretary-Treasurer and IAM H.E.L.P.S. Coordinator Ko Vang, Business Representative John Duerscherl, and Vice President Kera Peterson were in attendance to accept the award.
“Congratulations to IAM District 77 on receiving FamilyWise’s 2019 ‘Volunteer of the Year’ Award,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “Your continued commitment and willingness to dedicate your time to volunteering and improving the lives of all Minnesota families – not just IAM members – is immeasurable. Thank you for all of your hard work and everything that you do.”
The IAM is leading a group of 12 industrial and manufacturing unions pledging to oppose NAFTA 2.0, should it come to a House vote without major changes to stop outsourcing and implement stronger labor standards, enforcement and rules of origin provisions.
The House should not consider a vote on the renegotiated U.S., Canada and Mexico trade pact until the agreement includes recommendations from labor, the unions write. NAFTA 2.0 currently omits protections for important sectors like aerospace and general manufacturing and lacks enforcement mechanisms for labor rights in Mexico.
“NAFTA 2.0 does nothing to stop the bleeding of our jobs from the U.S. to Mexico, especially in critically important industries like aerospace and general manufacturing,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr., who chairs the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council. “Unless our recommendations are made to the text of the agreement, NAFTA 2.0 will be met with staunch opposition from labor if it is put to a vote on the House floor.”
The IAM sent a letter to members of Congress in October saying that NAFTA 2.0 “does not come close to the much-needed changes that labor has submitted to USTR.”
In May, the IAM testified before the House Ways and Means subcommittee on trade, saying NAFTA 2.0 negotiations should be reopened to improve the enforcement of labor standards.
The current text of #NAFTA 2.0 does nothing to stop the outsourcing of aerospace and manufacturing jobs.
The @MachinistsUnion and the 4.5 million-member @AFLCIO Industrial Union Council will staunchly oppose the agreement if it comes to the House floor without major changes. pic.twitter.com/hvZt546Yj2
