Mahoning, Trumbull union members discuss Bernie Moreno’s anti-worker allegations
Several members of the Warren chapter of the United Auto Workers (UAW Local 1112) and the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO met Tuesday to call out Republican U.S. Senate nominee Bernie Moreno for his alleged business practices as a car salesman.
Anti-worker allegations against Moreno
Union officials shared reports that Moreno owned a Buick GMC dealership in Beachwood and told voters he’d “refused to sell a Buick SUV model made in China, the Envision,” according to Spectrum News. However, a Facebook post made in 2019 revealed that the Chinese-made vehicle had been sold for years at the Beachwood dealership.
Reports from Business Insider detailed anti-worker allegations against Moreno in court.
Moreno Campaign Communications Director Reagan McCarthy disputed the allegations in an email sent to Mahoning Matters on Wednesday.
“In response to the closure of the Lordstown Plant here in Ohio, Bernie made a decision to stop any new inventory of Envision’s from being sold at his dealership,” McCarthy said. “After he sold off the inventory he already had on the lot, he refused to take orders for more Envisions. There is zero contradiction here.”
McCarthy also shared a joint statement that she said came from 17 people who work for Moreno.
“In addition to creating thousands of good-paying jobs across Ohio, Bernie was a great and caring boss who always looked out for his workers,” the statement read. “Under Bernie’s leadership, workers were always put in the best possible positions to succeed and our needs were always taken care of. We would work for Bernie again in a heartbeat.”
What local workers had to say
Jose Arroyo is the vice president of the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and staff representative for the United Steelworkers.
“Bernie Moreno has shown Ohio workers over and over that he does not care about anyone besides himself,” said Arroyo. “He lied to us about selling cars made in China at the expense of Ohio workers and lied to us about not paying his employees the overtime wages they earned. It is clear that Bernie Moreno is not on our side and that we can’t trust him.”
Mary Ola Stemple is the administrative assistant for the union and a former employee at the Lordstown General Motors factory, which closed in 2019.
She said she was one of the first women hired at Lordstown.
“I know what it means to stand up for Ohio workers. Bernie Moreno is not standing up for people like me, he is too busy putting himself and his profits first,” said Stemple. “Moreno’s business decisions hurt Mahoning Valley workers and families, and he has proved he will not fight for us.”
Jim Devlin, vice president of the union, worked at the Lordstown plant for 40 years.
“I know that Ohioans need a Senator who will fight to keep our jobs here – not one who made his fortune selling cars manufactured in China, because decisions like that led to Lordstown closing and Ohio jobs being shipped overseas,” said Devlin.
