Brown Visits with Ge-Savant Workers & Union Leaders in Bucyrus, Ohio

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) visited with GE-Savant workers and union leaders at the IUE-CWA Local Union Hall, as he continues to press GE-Savant leadership to keep the company and jobs in Ohio.

"I'll never stop fighting for Ohio workers. This decision to shift production to factories in China is a short-sighted decision that fails to recognize the productivity of Bucyrus's workforce," said Brown. "This is why I introduced a proposal recently to get rid of incentives in the tax code to ship jobs and factories abroad, reward investment in American jobs, and make multinational corporations pay their fair share. We're going to reward companies that create U.S. jobs and invest in America."

After the company laid off workers at its Bucyrus plant earlier this year, Brown wrote to Robert Madonna, CEO of Savant, to press him for answers and urge the company to work with Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser, the city of Bucyrus, and IUE-CWA Local 84704 to keep jobs and high-efficiency lighting production in Ohio. Brown also wrote to Walmart leadership, asking the company to get involved in local efforts to save high-efficiency lighting jobs at the GE-Savant plant in Bucyrus.

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing last month, Brown continued to push for action and advocate on behalf of workers at the GE-Savant plant in Bucyrus and a tax code that supports American manufacturing. During the hearing, Brown questioned expert Ohio witnesses on steps that can be taken to halt plant closures and manufacturing layoffs like those in Bucyrus. Brown recently unveiled his framework to overhaul international taxation, which would end incentives to offshore jobs, invest in America, and ensure mega-corporations pay their fair share.

"We express our gratitude to Senator Brown and staff for their concern about the loss of important manufacturing jobs in Bucyrus. The economic impact of the jobs that were lost will have a strong ripple effect throughout Bucyrus and Crawford County and will be difficult to replace. Thank you Senator Brown for your leadership on the importance of keeping good quality manufacturing jobs in Bucyrus," said Jeff Reser, Mayor of Bucyrus.

Source