‘Thanks for saving my pension.’ Why did Sherrod Brown meet with area workers in Niles?
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown visited the United Steelworkers labor union in Niles to meet with retirees, union workers and Mahoning Valley voters ahead of November’s election.
Sen. Brown highlighted his work to pass the Butch Lewis Act during his speech at the United Steelworkers.
What is the Butch Lewis Act?
The Butch Lewis Act passed three years ago as part of the American Rescue Plan.
It preserved pensions for 100,000 Ohio workers whose retirement plans were threatening to be cut.
“As workers, we expect dignity and respect of the work we do first and foremost,” said Norm Wernet, president of the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans. “That extends into our life after work.”
The act was introduced by Sen. Brown, and local supporters like Ed Barker, have been working since 2014 to ensure workers and their families enjoy retirement security.
Sen. Brown said one family told him about the impact of preserving their access to retirement funds.
“The one story after we saved the pensions, I was at a thing over near Wooster..and a guy, a Teamster, stood up and he said, Senator, thanks for saving my pension. I said, ‘Of course, it’s what you pay me for. It’s my job.’ And then his wife said, ‘My husband got that letter from Central States saying he was receiving a 40 or 50% pension cut. My husband, when I thought about when we first got that letter saying was going to be cut, what we what I thought about was on my husband, he was a truck driver. He missed my daughter’s soccer game. Sometimes he missed my son’s choir performances. He thought it was the right thing to do; we all did, because he was providing for us and we have a pension. Then when he got that letter, he thought he had failed us.’”
“If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work and I will continue doing that every single day. I’m grateful to have Ohio workers by my side in our fight to make sure hard work pays off for everyone,” said Sen. Brown.
Bernie Moreno’s communications director Reagan McCarthy said Sen. Brown’s actually hurt Ohio workers.
“Sherrod Brown and his allies are stooping to the politics of personal destruction because they know they can’t defend his extreme leftwing voting record of voting with the Biden-Harris administration nearly 100% of the time. Brown has repeatedly supported mass amnesty for illegals and the radical anti-American energy agenda, which both hurt Ohio workers. The last thing Brown wants is a policy debate, because he knows Ohioans will reject his liberal record,” said McCarthy.
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This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 10:24 AM.
