About 60 members of the United Steel Workers Union 1140 gathered at their Lorain union hall today to show support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. They railed against her opponent, Republican Donald Trump, charging that he used foreign steel for construction projects.
Lorain’s Republic Steel plant was idled last March, laying off about 700 workers. And only one of the U.S. Steel pipe mills is operating, putting about 450 out of work. USW District Director Patrick Gallagher says imported steel is a big problem, and Hillary Clinton has vowed to re-evaluate trade policies to level the playing field for American steel makers.
H also criticizes Donald Trump’s plans, which include steep tariffs.
“Trump just says he’s going to throw the trade deals out, re-bargain them, put a 35 percent tariff on there, which is not realistic. We need trade, we need fair trade not free trade. And we believe Secretary Clinton’s policies will promote fairer trade, and we won’t be the loser with all these trade deals and losing jobs.”
Gallagher says Clinton’s plan to push a major rebuilding of the nation’s infrastructure is also be good for the steel industry and labor. He says most of the Lorain workers support Clinton, but some are backing Trump because they’re angry over economic conditions that have hurt them.
