Christopher Dacanay
UNION CONCERNS — Mark Glyptis, left, president of United Steelworkers Local 2911, introduced West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore, a 2024 Republican primary candidate for U.S. Congress out of West Virginia’s second congressional district, to speak about his campaign and concerns about unfair trade practices.
WEIRTON — West Virginia’s state treasurer shared his concerns about international fair-trade legislation with local Steelworkers Friday, during a stop on his congressional campaign trail.
Riley Moore, West Virginia’s 25th state treasurer, addressed members of United Steelworkers Local 2911, a group he was noted to have a previous working relationship with as treasurer.
A Harpers Ferry resident, Moore is seeking the Republican nomination in this spring’s primary for the 2nd W.Va. Congressional District seat currently held by Alex Mooney. Mooney is not seeking re-election but has joined a crowded field jockeying for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Joe Manchin, who announced he will not seek re-election.
Among those candidates is Gov. Jim Justice.
Moore shared his concerns with the union about unfair trade practices, specifically the alleged illegal dumping by other countries of low-price tin in U.S. markets.
“We’ve been getting taken advantage of in this, as it relates to supply-side economics, for decades,” Moore said to union members. “We’re being taken advantage of in every sector of our industrial economy here in the United States.”
Moore’s comments come following an ongoing trade case between Weirton tin mill operators Cleveland-Cliffs, the USW and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Petitions filed by the USW and Cleveland-Cliffs in January allege dumping practices by China and seven other nations that are harming the U.S. tin industry.
Mark Glyptis, president of Local 2911, said a determinative ruling on the trade case is expected to come from the ITC and Commerce Department early next year.
“The case is of paramount importance to Weirton because we’re the largest producer of tin plate in the country currently,” Glyptis said, “and much of our business has been provided to customers by foreign countries.”
Glyptis thanked Moore for his previous work with the USW, which was spurred on after 300 union workers and management employees, or one-third of the total workforce, were laid off at the Cleveland-Cliffs tin mill earlier this year — layoffs Glyptis said are undoubtedly a result of illegal dumping activities.
Those laid off were given a 26-week unemployment benefit period, Glyptis said. USW reached out to legislators for help extending the period, at which point Moore took up the cause as treasurer and “went way beyond what (he) needed to do.”
Moore noted he was bound by law from extending the benefit period but, through his office, was able to acquire unclaimed property that was then given to the workers in small checks during the continuing period.
A former welder and contractor with the Department of Homeland Security, Moore said 40 years of poor protective efforts by politicians on both sides of the political aisle have led to the current poor state of the U.S. economy. Fallout includes a weakening of industrial capacity and the stealing of American intellectual property by foreign countries, which produce items cheaper and sell them back to the U.S., all while providing low wages and no benefits to workers.
With the decline of manufacturing, Moore said he has seen a “hollowing out” of the American middle class, adding, “We can’t just have people that are lawyers and doctors and people working at Walmart. That’s where we’re headed right now.”
To the USW, Moore promised to be a “friend in Congress” dedicated to securing jobs for the Northern Panhandle and bolstering American steel.
“That’s what I want to do if I’m elected to Congress, is to put our people back to work (and) keep them working,” Moore said, adding he’s not shy about his trade protectionism policies.
During a question-and-answer period, Moore said that he would look to be a part of Congress’ Committee on Appropriations if elected, to leverage funding so that fair-trade laws will no longer be neglected but acted upon. Separately, he said he is not bothered by West Virginia being a right-to-work state.
Moore also spoke of his desire to abolish the Department of Education, believing individual states should be the ones to dictate how they operate in their unique circumstances. He expressed his concern about the financial situation of West Virginia University’s flagship campus but said the state legislature should not continue to bail out the university for poor financial decisions.
Asked about Form Energy’s 800,000-square-foot battery operating facility being constructed in Weirton, Moore said he did not approve of the development and expressed disapproval at federal money being handed monthly to the project — in addition to tax credits — while skilled laborers already in the area are shunned.
John Saunders, staff representative for USW District 1, called Moore a principled individual, adding, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or Republican. If you have principles that are strongly dealt with, good things are going to happen.”
Rick Harcharik, trustee with the USW, said he appreciated Moore’s comments about education and is glad that Moore approves of the school voucher system.
“(Moore) has viewpoints that I think are necessary nowadays,” Harcharik said.
Bryan Cooley, veteran representative with the USW, was one of the approximately 230 union workers who were laid off. Living off savings, Cooley said he is grateful for the efforts Glyptis and Moore put in to fight for the laid-off workers.
Cooley, who plans to return to Cleveland-Cliffs when he is called back, said it is good that Moore was willing to “go up to bat” for the workers. Additionally, Cooley said it would have been better to see more state representatives present on Friday to show their support of the union.
Other stops by Moore on Friday included the Ergon refinery in Newell and in Moundsville.
