Pennsylvania steelworkers spoke out on their local union’s decision to endorse Donald Trump for president, arguing the future of the steel industry hinges upon a possible Trump win.
“Historically, we’ve all been Democrats,” U.S. Steelworkers 1557 member Glenn Thomas told the “Fox & Friends” co-hosts. “A couple of us up here are third-generation steelworkers, and we had a trade case years ago that our ex-international president, Tom Conway, was fighting against the Chinese for illegal dumping, and when President Trump stepped in, and he imposed those tariffs on the Chinese, I firmly believe that he saved the steel industry, not only in our country, but the Mon Valley, where many of us have lived for close to 30 years.”
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“Steelworkers for Trump,” who are members of U.S. Steelworkers 1557, presented the former president with a commemorative hard hat on stage during his rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, over the weekend.
“[It was] a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was glad I got to get my members up there, and they got to see him,” Vice President Richard Tikey said. “It was like all about my members to me and meet Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump kind of saved all of our jobs with his tariffs.”
“It was a great experience. I’m glad that he accepted… the endorsement,” pyro house operator Brian Pavlack said. “I just wanted people to know… that all the steelworkers in the Mon Valley are for President Trump.”
The panel of steelworkers made it clear that Trump’s tariffs ultimately saved the industry, their own jobs and livelihoods as a result of his pro-America policies.
“No. 1 is to protect the jobs in our valley,” maintenance technician Andy Macey said. “I’m a third-generation steelworker. I’ve been through those layoffs. It’s not fun. I’ve seen three mills shut down in the valley in the 80s. We have three mills left in the valley. I don’t want to see those shut down, and he made a firm commitment when I asked him with a handshake, ‘Mr. President, after the election, will you do what you can to keep our Mon Valley viable in the steel industry?’ He gripped my hand, and confirmed to me through that handshake that he says, ‘I will do that.’”
“It was one of the first things he did when he got into the presidency, is to put those tariffs on, and they worked,” he noted.
Meanwhile, both former President Trump and the Biden-Harris administration have voiced opposition to the proposed takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan-based Nippon, but some steelworkers have mixed feelings about the possible takeover.
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Some workers agree with the top union leaders that the deal should be blocked, rooted in fear they could eventually lose their jobs and the new company leadership wouldn’t honor their labor agreement.
Others, however, think Nippon’s vow to invest could actually enhance their job security and be a positive move for the longevity of the industry.
“When you look at… the sale to Nippon Steel, they want us to be a bigger player in the global market,” Macey said. “So the workforce, our union brothers and sisters, we are for it. We are for that sale… We can’t stress enough to get the international, just to go to the table and meet with them. That’s all we’re asking at this point; meet with them.”
“They promise to rebuild,” he continued. “We have a hot mill at our urban plant that was built in 1938. How do you compete with that, with modern technology today that’s available? We want that. We want that in the Mon Valley. We cannot lose one job in the Mon Valley, and that’s why we are here… to advocate for that.”
Co-host Lawrence Jones asked what would happen to the trajectory of the steel industry if Kamala Harris wins the 2024 election.
“I think we’re done,” Pavlack responded. It’s going to be tough because she came and said if she’s elected president, she’s going to take off the tariffs. All tariffs, steel tariffs, all [kinds] of tariffs. She called it a tax on the American people, and she’s talking about tariffs, so we need President Trump elected to save our jobs.”
Trump plans on introducing a “Built in America” policy should he win in November, which would bring more manufacturing jobs back to Pennsylvania and the country at-large.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and FOX Business’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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