Election 2016: Members Speak Out
Chris Chapman
Local 2227
Chris Chapman, 53, works for U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works at its Irvin finishing plant in West Mifflin, Pa. He has been a member of Local 2227 in District 10 for 23 years. Chapman heads the local’s civil rights committee and is civil rights coordinator for District 10. He is also the father of eight adult children.
“I believe Hillary is the most closely related candidate on the issues for me, my family and my community. I like her views on shipping good jobs out of the country, the things she says about family, making sure we have enough resources so our kids have a good life, schooling and all of those things.
“I’d like to see her make the middle class grow by creating some new job opportunities. Everybody complains about jobs leaving, but nobody is actually creating new jobs. What’s the next big industry?
“We’re at the point now where all of the job markets are so slim. A long time ago, my dad said, ‘You’re not going into the mill, you’re going to college.’ I went to college, came back and went into the mill.
“We need other job markets for our children. My kids ask me what should I go to school for if I’m not going to work in the mill or in a factory. I tell them to aim for a different field. I tell them medical. I also say technology is the key to the next industries.
“Everybody says bring the old jobs back, but that would be like putting an egg back into its shell. We can cultivate what we have, but it’s never going to come back like it was in 1973 or 1974. We’re never going to have that big boom.”
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