TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Whenever there was a problem at Sumitomo Rubber in the past, the workers say they were always a part of the solution.
“They've always come to us,” said Joshua Hall, president of USW 135L. “When New York City was proposing the HEAT Act … we were in Albany. We were hitting all the local politicians we could to try and help with that.”
But when it came to the 100-year-old plant’s fate as a whole, the workers say they were never asked.
RELATED: Sources: Sumitomo closure 'in the works for months'; county aims to recapture tax incentives
“That's the real hard part is that there was no ask,” Hall said.
The ask now among workers is to show that frustration in numbers, calling on their entire workforce and politicians to gather Monday at 9 a.m. at the Aqua Lane boat launch and call for the plant to remain open.
It comes just four days after workers found out that the rubber plant would be closing, arriving at the plant Thursday to find armed security, chains and fencing up around the facility that many had been working at for decades.
Sumitomo told the workforce late last week that the decision to close stemmed from financial reasons. But emails obtained by 2 On Your Side Sunday show a conflicting story, with management sending multiple emails to workers within the last month praising them for their record-high performance.
That message of praise also came when corporate had seemingly already decided to close the plant, buying a domain name around that same time that would be used to announce the closure.
This new information only fueled the fire, with politicians now joining the call on Sumitomo to see these workers and their needs.
“I'm really mad because we've invested in Sumitomo,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. “All we had heard is that they were going to continue to invest, and they love the plant, they love the workforce, and then all of a sudden, you hear out of the blue that it's closing.
“It's a harsh, corporate decision that's affecting 1,500 families directly in Erie and Niagara County.”
The union and Sumitomo also plan to return to the bargaining table this week. The union is still trying to find a way to keep this plant open, while Sumitomo’s eyes are set on trying to put together severance packages.