USW Affirms Only 730 Union Positions to Remain in Indianapolis; Up to 1,300 Carrier Jobs Still Leaving Indiana for Mexico

Leaders Urge Trump to Fix Trade, Fulfill Campaign Promises and End Attacks on Elected Local Union Officers

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Dec 09, 2016, 12:08 ET

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today affirmed Local 1999 President Chuck Jones' assessment that Carrier has committed to keep only 730 union workers at its Indianapolis plant. Up to 1,300 Indiana workers still face layoff, as the company continues to implement its plan to shift production from Indianapolis and Huntington facilities to Mexico.

The USW said that Carrier's original plan to lay off 2,100 employees at the two plants has changed since President-elect Donald Trump announced a deal to keep production in Indianapolis; however, as pointed out by Jones after meeting with management, the incoming administration's assertion that it saved over 1,100 jobs is inaccurate and misleading.

USW International President Leo W. Gerard urged the President-elect to focus on addressing our nation's failed trade policies instead of attacking union leaders like Jones and implying that American workers should compete with those in Mexico earning three dollars an hour.

"We agreed with the re-importation tax Trump's campaign proposed to punish companies that outsource production from the U.S. to other countries with 35 percent tariffs on products imported here for sale," Gerard said. "Now, Carrier will receive millions in corporate welfare and still move jobs and production to Mexico. It's unsustainable."

USW District 7 Director Mike Millsap also encouraged Trump and his transition team to join the union's fight to save manufacturing workers and their communities by implementing the trade reforms he made the centerpiece of his campaign.

"At Carrier, at Rexnord and thousands of other plants in cities across the country, the future of American manufacturing and middle class jobs it provides are at stake," Millsap said. "The situation is urgent. Without a radical change in our country's approach to international trade, our jobs and our industries will continue to disappear."

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in manufacturing, 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.

More information, contact: Tony Montana – (412) 562-2592; [email protected]

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SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)