Workers rally to save Charleroi plant

Union leaders and political officials called for action at Friday’s press conference.

Corelle Brand employees are standing together as a family, no matter what the future may hold.

Charleroi has made global headlines over the past week regarding its immigrant population, but there is a bigger problem to address — supporting hundreds of Corelle Brand workers as they fight to keep their jobs and the production of Pyrex glass in Charleroi.

On Friday, about 100 people gathered in the Davies Ford lot across from the employee entrance to the glass plant, supported by dozens

more of their friends, family, community and Corning retirees. They held a press conference they hope will bring attention to the need to continue the decades-long legacy of manufacturing in the borough.

The glass factory has been part of the fabric of the Mon Valley — and the Magic City — for nearly a century.

The news was a devastating blow to the employees who work there, and to hundreds of others who built their lives and legacies at the plant.

The current owner, Anchor Hocking CEO Mark Eichhorn, informed more than 300 employees at the facility Sept. 4 that it would close by the end of this year.

While about half the jobs are intended to be relocated to the company’s Lancaster, Ohio, facility, hundreds of workers were left with questions.

For the past two weeks union representatives have been doing whatever they can to keep the doors open.

Daniele Byrne, vice president of Corelle Brands Charleroi division of United Steelworkers Local 53G, has worked at the plant for 35 years.

She said Eichhorn told them the facility would close because they did not want to keep two factories open, but Byrne and other union representatives aren’t buying that.

While Byrne was the last to take the podium Friday, she made the greatest impact, with cheers from the audience erupting as she spoke.

“We are not Anchor brand,” she said. “We are Corelle Brands. Anchor does not own us. Centre Lane Partners owns Anchor Hocking and Corelle Brands, and that’s how this all starts.”

Byrne is in her 35th year at the plant.

“We have produced premium and quality ware for over 100 years,” she said. “This may soon come to an end.

“… If this takes place, it will devastate the town. Not only that, but 300 hardworking people will lose good paying jobs.”

She said most of the employees have dedicated their lives to the plant.

“Over half of the employees here range from 10-48 years of service,” she added.

While the company says some jobs could be transferred, it comes down to principle for Byrne.

“(In) Lancaster, Ohio, where they want to take our equipment and try to produce Pyre ware, it will never be Pyrex if it goes there,” she told the crowd. “Consumers will think they are buying premium Pyrex ware, but it won’t be the same. It won’t be the same quality.”

She added that the factory is important to Charleroi, workers and residents.

“The factory means so much in this town,” she said. “I grew up three streets up from the factory, at 12 o’clock every day when Corning blew their lunch whistle my grandfather would reset his watch or the clocks in the house because there was no other time than Corning time. He worked here for 50 years along with many other of my relatives. I met my husband, Rob, here, who has been at the plant for 36 years. I have made many dear friends that I call family in this plant. Along with six other couples that were married in this factory, you have moms, dads, brothers, sisters, twin sisters, that work here.” Heather Roberts, president of Corelle Brands Charleroi division of United Steelworkers Local 53G, said there are a lot of people who care.

“It’s been really heartwarming to see,” she said. “I met my husband here, he has worked here for many years, this plant is our life. These people are our family.”

Her aunt, April Sethman, also a longtime employee, spoke Friday with tears in her eyes.

“It’s sad, and I’m not really that hopeful,” Sethman said. “We’re not alone in this, but we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Joe Dzurko said he’s nervous, too. “How could he (Eichhorn) sit across the table from me and smile?” He said. “I’d like him to come here.”

Crossing party lines

The press conference, arranged by Charleroi Mayor Gregg Doerfler and Councilman Larry Celaschi, was the second stop for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick on his “Price of Poor Leadership Tour.”

The tour is aimed to highlight “how the failed Biden-Harris-Casey agenda has hurt every Pennsylvanian, from families to small businesses.”

McCormick kicked off the event, speaking first to the Corelle Brand employees who stood behind him.

“It’s a beautiful day in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but it is a sad day to be here with all of you,” he said. “I want you to know I am here because of you.”

McCormick cited faults with the current presidential administration, but circled back to why he came to the Magic City.

“These aren’t just numbers. These are not numbers on a ballot sheet, these aren’t even just jobs,” he said. “This is all about communities and families and lives. This is about the community that people here call home.

“I am here today to stand in solidarity with these workers in the fight to keep these jobs here, to build a vibrant economy for our commonwealth and to ensure these Pennsylvania communities are not left behind.

“Everybody here, you have a right to be angry, you have a right to be frustrated and you have the right to fight for your future in this community and I am here standing in solidarity with all of you.”

People at the rally, from workers to retirees and various supporters, wore white T-shirts that said “Keep Making Pyrex in Charleroi” and held signs to match. Others were given stickers to place on their shirts. Pyrex hats were passed out, along with Pyrex glassware made at the plant.

For most of the people at Friday’s event, it was a matter of solidarity, not politics. For them, it’s personal.

Doerfler was the first local official to speak. He seemed to get emotional during his address as he wanted to make sure the right story was told.

“The story is the closing of a 118-yearold plant that sits behind us, and all of the wonderful workers standing behind me,” he said.

Doerfler said he got a call from Byrne on Sept. 5 about the potential closure. He was in Georgia at the time, but she asked for help.

So he called Celaschi and together they “got the ball rolling.”

“Now, here we are,” he said. “The bottom line in this is, I don’t want to see this plant leave Charleroi and I don’t want to see these employees lose their jobs. I will keep fighting for them until a victory is at hand.”

Doerfler said he wants to meet Eichhorn “face to face.”

Celaschi was next to take the podium. He said when he received a call from the mayor about the potential closure he was “shell shocked.”

“I never thought I would see the day when this plant would be closing, but here we all are,” he said.

Celaschi said he contacted Byrne to offer help. He said the announcement of the closure of the Anchor Hocking plant, on the heels of Quality Pasta closing, is a “crushing blow” to Charleroi, the surrounding communities of the 15022 zip code and the entire Mon Valley.

“The trickle-down effect from these job losses will affect the borough, the school district, the borough owned water and sewage authority losing two of their largest customers. It will have an effect on this entire town,” he said. “What is the answer to that? Another tax hike?”

Celaschi remembered a piece of advice his father gave him.

“He told me, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” Celaschi said. “So using that piece of advice, I began to contact everyone from A to Z for help.”

Celaschi and Doerfler have done hundreds of interviews and have appeared on hundreds of podcasts to put a spotlight on what the closure of the plant would mean.

“I have experienced many pushbacks trying to find the right key to open the door that will save this plant,” Celaschi said. “When calling around to the powers to be, the political, the business world asking for help, I kept getting a lot of the same answers. ‘What am I supposed to do?’ ‘I won’t be able to do anything’ or ‘I can’t get involved’ for whatever reason.”

Washington County Republican Party Chairman Sean Logue suggested having McCormick come to the borough to show support for workers.

Celaschi said he was thrilled that McCormick agreed and showed up in person.

“After many attempts by several people to contact Sen. Bob Casey, where is Bob Casey?” Celaschi asked. “His office finally crawled out of a hole and sent two staff aides to meet us three days ago because they were scrambling when they caught wind that Dave Mc-Cormick was coming to Charleroi.”

In that meeting, Celaschi said Casey’s staff was “clueless as to the magnitude of what was happening in Charleroi.”

“They did not even know the Quality Pasta plant closed and Charleroi lost 100 jobs the Friday before Labor Day,” Celaschi said. “People, we have very little time left on the clock. Days. Casey’s aides are just starting to take note when these employees are about to lose their jobs.”

Celaschi then mentioned an email Casey sent out to Eichhorn.

In a press release dated Friday, Casey shared correspondence directed to Eichhorn, “slamming” him for the recent announcement to abruptly close the glass manufacturing plant.

“Closing the factory would not only cost 300 Pennsylvanians their jobs but would change the fabric of this community and put an end to one of Pennsylvania’s most impressive manufacturing success stories,” Casey said, adding that he is imploring Anchor Hocking to reconsider the decision.

“The jobs at this plant have provided family-sustaining livelihoods for the tens of thousands of proud workers who have shaped it into the local legacy it is today. Your sudden announcement to close the plant will upend the lives of Pennsylvania workers who have contributed to your company’s success,” Casey wrote. “The Charleroi community and the hardworking employees of this historic facility have given your companies their very best, for your benefit, too. They deserve better than to be tossed aside by a company that has disrespected their rights, their value, and seems unable to prosper in a growing market. As their Senator, I will always fight for Pennsylvania jobs and workers.

“For generations, Mon Valley residents have depended on and have been proud to work in glass manufacturing in Charleroi — a town named after the former European glass making capital, Charleroi, Belgium.”

Casey’s email also referenced Charleroi’s historical importance to the region and the harm closing the plant would cause to hundreds of families who have depended on glass making for generations.

Casey said the decision to close the plant is “puzzling” given that the glassmaking market is not in crisis and disrespectful to the employees who have dedicated their careers to making glass in Charleroi.

Casey asked Eichhorn to address specific questions by Oct. 1.

He wants to know what financial factors have led to close the facility, if he has considered selling rather than dismantling the site, if Anchor Hocking or Centre Lane affiliates have altered the formula or process for manufacturing Pyrex glass products and if the formula or process has been altered or will be altered in the future, how will that change will be communicated to consumers and finally, if Anchor Hocking does move forward with plans to close the plant and lay off over 300 workers, how he intends to cooperate with the United States Department of Labor and Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry to assure employees have unrestrained access to any services that can be made available for them and their families.

“The Charleroi community and the hardworking employees of this historic facility have given you their very best,” Casey said. “They deserve better than to be tossed aside by a company that has disrespected their rights, their value and seems unable to prosper in a growing market.”

But Celaschi said Casey’s inquiry is too late.

“Well, Mr. Casey, you knew nothing about the closing of these two plants,” Celaschi said. “If you did know, you would know we don’t have until Oct. 1.”

Celaschi then held up a glass-blowing pipe his grandfather, Pete Celaschi, used when he worked in the plant for 50 years.

“The same plant that these workers are earning their living in,” he said. “My grandfather blew glass with his bare hands and made a product that was known worldwide. Yes, the name of the plant has changes over time, but one thing remains the same. These employees here today make the greatest glass product in the world right here in Charleroi, Pa.

“The one history of this plant and trying to steal it from Charleroi is compared to taking the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Pittsburgh. So, Mark Eichhorn, you picked a fight with the wrong people. We aren’t going away quietly. So why don’t you get your ass down here to Charleroi and negotiate with all of these hardworking men and women who are employed right here.”

Before the crowd dispersed, McCormick fielded questions from media outlets in attendance.

“I have learned all of my life when you have to fight the first thing you have to do is get in the fight and bring attention to this issue,” McCormick said.

Byrne said she reached out to a lot of people, but “Dave McCormick was the first person to offer to come to Charleroi.”

Some outlets asked him about allegations surrounding the immigrant population in Charleroi, which has made global news, but Byrne quickly took the microphone and said they were there to talk about the glass plant.

The crowd erupted in cheers and no other questions were accepted that did not involve the plant.

United Steelworkers District 10 Director Bernie Hall wasn’t happy about McCormick’s visit.

“David McCormick sunk to a new low by visiting Charleroi to exploit the closing of the Pyrex plant and the loss of hundreds of good union jobs,” Hall said.

“McCormick himself has inflicted this very kind of heartache and misery on working people by cutting jobs at his own companies, teaching other employers how to outsource, and doing business with Chinese firms that undermine America’s economy and security. He’s a hypocrite who lined his pockets on the backs of ordinary Americans — and he’s unfit to stand alongside hard-working USW members.”

It’s not over

Since the closing was announced, borough officials have been working to help in whatever way they can.

Legislators at the federal, state and local level have been contacted in hopes they can take an all-hands-on-deck approach to do whatever they can for Corelle Brand employees who are desperate for their voices to be heard.

They are hoping for a lifeline, no matter who throws it.

Borough Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek said she has been in several meetings over the past two weeks, specifically with lawmakers who can make a difference.

“We are fighting tooth and nail,” she said. “We are in communication, and trying to get in communication with anyone who might have an influence. And those are the people who are in office right now.”

Byrne said she doesn’t understand how it was possible for Center Lane Partners to be denied by the Federal Trade Commission to purchase the company, but then be approved.

“Could this be a monopoly of housewares and price fixing to manipulate the market?” Byrne said. “Making two brands of ware in the same factory using the same tank should be two different qualities of ware. We need someone to help us because something is fishy about it. It’s not fair because we are making money.

“This is pure jealousy and greed. (Mark) Eichhorn wants to shut us down because Pyrex controls 70% of the market. He would rather destroy our efficient factory, the most efficient factory in the world and cripple over 300 families and help destroy the pride of the Mon Valley.”

Hopkins-Calcek said she has information and insight on the matter, but wasn’t invited to speak at Friday’s press conference.

Hopkins-Calcek said reached out to U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office, Casey’s office and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.

She’s also working with the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Mon Valley Alliance.

Additionally, she said she has communicated with the FTC.

Eichhorn is failing to respond, she said.

“We have been working behind the scenes, and unfortunately, we did not get to speak today but we are talking with those who can make a difference and keep this plant here … especially for these employees and their families.

“My highest hope and first priority is to keep this plant in Charleroi at all costs.”

United Steelworkers District 10 said Casey has been in talks with them on how to help.

Byrne said the union has spent countless hours talking with anyone who will listen, and workers aren’t giving up hope.

Byrne said meetings that began last week will continue Monday.

“Seeing the support here today, it means more than anything,” she said. “We want the world to know, that’s our goal.”