End of an era: Glassworkers bid farewell as production ceases at plant after

TODAY MARKS THE END of an era and the close of a major chapter in Charleroi’s history as the Corelle Brands Inc. factory will stop producing glassware after 132 years.

After the last employees leave the gate, the last furnace will be shut down and the remaining presses will be dismantled. A ceremonial whistle — like the one that sounded for so many years at shift change — will blow one final time today.

It’s a sad day for Charleroi, the Mon Valley and the dedicated employees — whether they had only been there for a few years or were among the loyal, longstanding workers who have dedicated decades of their lives to the job.

While the Mon Valley is no stranger to heartache as we’ve seen the devastating effects of the fall of the once-mighty steel industry in towns such as Donora, Monessen and Allenport, the shuttering of the glass factory still cuts deep. Perhaps we were naïve to think that a factory that has been thriving and producing glassware and dishes for more than 100 years would one day cease operations in the Magic City.

The plant is closing because Anchor Hocking is moving its Pyrex glass production to its plants in Lancaster, Ohio. Workers had expected as much because Anchor Hocking announced in September the plant would close. Some of the equipment for glass production has been transported to Ohio, workers said.

About 270 workers will be out of a job because of the closing.

Charleroi officials had stressed the importance of the plant to the town’s economy. The plant provided good-paying jobs and benefits. Many of the employees at the plant had worked at the facility for decades. And there have been generations of the same family who toiled at the plant.

About 150 of the plant’s workers could have the opportunity to relocate to Lancaster, Ohio, the company said. Many employees — some nearing retirement — couldn’t imagine leaving the homes they’ve worked so hard for to uproot their lives and families to start over.

It’s such a shame in so many ways. It’s a shame that the plant, such a bedrock of Charleroi, will likely become another ghost building. It’s a shame Charleroi will lose that tax revenue, and then there’s the likelihood Corelle Brands will appeal its tax reassessment once it abandons production at the plant and the value of the property drops.

And it’s a shame that more than 200 employees now find themselves without jobs in an economy in which good-paying jobs with benefits are hard to find.

We’re sure there are conversations out there blaming the state of national politics, but the demise of the Corelle plant in Charleroi underscores how vapid our national political rhetoric can be.

For manufacturing decisions such as these in small towns and cities, it matters little who sits in the White House. This decision was announced in September before the election, the results of which did not change the fate of the plant. Economic factors and conditions, domestic and international, matter far more than if the president is a Republican or Democrat.

The bottom line is, the glass factory was part of the heart and soul of Charleroi. Our hearts go out to the workers who will lose their jobs and to their families who must be under intense pressure and anxiety. We should all reach out to them and give them the utmost encouragement, moral support – and hopefully – jobs.

It’s not just a plant closing. It’s the end of an era and the beginning of an uncertain one.