Contact: John Shinn, (716) 565-1720, jshinn@usw.org
(CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y.) — The United Steelworkers (USW) released the following statement today from USW District 4 Director John Shinn after gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley doubled down on his false assertion that workers, town officials and even Gov. Dan Malloy are responsible for Fusion Paperboard’s plant closure.
“The Governor and our local leaders have done everything in their power to help create jobs and make life better for working people and their families in Connecticut. Tom Foley’s disingenuous claims that the workers and the governor are somehow to blame for Fusion Paperboard’s unfortunate decision to close its plant couldn’t be further from the truth.
“The Governor has worked tirelessly with plant management since April to try to keep the plant operational, including offering state aid.
“Unfortunately, our nation’s failed trade policies, which for 20 years have put the interests of billionaires and multinational corporations ahead of working people and small businesses, are to blame for the problems Fusion, and many other companies, have faced in recent years. These failed polices have cost thousands of Americans good jobs, including the workers at Fusion Paperboard.
“Tom Foley’s effort to shift the blame for this situation onto the shoulders of the workers and the governor is politics at its worst. Gov. Malloy has proudly stood up for working people throughout his time in office, and we are confident that he will continue to do so in his second term.”
USW District 4 represents tens of thousands of union members in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Puerto Rico. Its headquarters are in Cheektowaga, N.Y. The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing workers in a range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, health care, security, hotels, and municipal governments and agencies.
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