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Sen. Brown asks Lordstown Motors to provide reform plan, work with unions

By Mahoning Matters staff
In this March 3, 2019, file photo, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks to reporters during the Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast in Selma, Ala. (Julie Bennett | AP Photo, File)
In this March 3, 2019, file photo, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks to reporters during the Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast in Selma, Ala. (Julie Bennett | AP Photo, File)

LORDSTOWN — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, wants Lordstown Motors Corp. to develop and share a plan for reform and to work with area labor unions.

In a letter to Angela Strand, the newly appointed executive chairwoman of Lordstown Motors, Brown wrote that he wants to see the company succeed but recent investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice are concerning.

"Your company arrived in the Mahoning Valley with the stated desire to turn this area into 'Voltage Valley.' ... Lordstown Motors owes the Valley the next-generation electric future it was promised," Brown wrote in the letter.

"To that end, I ask that you develop, and share with me, a detailed plan on how you intend to reform your corporate practices to provide greater transparency for workers, investors and the community by the end of the month."

Brown also urged LMC to form a partnership with organized labor.

"To help your company achieve the next-generation electric future it is hoping to deliver, I urge you to try a different approach than your competitors: encourage and embrace a cooperative relationship with UAW right from the start," Brown wrote in the letter.

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This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Sen. Brown asks Lordstown Motors to provide reform plan, work with unions."