TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Workers from Sumitomo Rubber in the Town of Tonawanda came together Monday to protest last week’s immediate shutdown of the facility.
Some of the 1,550+ employees who lost their jobs came together to voice their anger and outrage over the abrupt closure and staged a rally-like get-together across from the facility on Sheridan Drive.
One of the more powerful moments at the Sumitomo protest was when 32-year-old Timothy Zambito carried his four-year-old daughter Penelope on his shoulders holding a sign stating “Sumitomo took the food out of my mouth!”
“Tell them what you said, Daddy's work broke your heart?” asked Zambito to his young daughter.
“Daddy's work broke our hearts,” replied Penelope.
The dad said he was a dedicated employee over the last 10 years to put food on the table for his family.
Sumitomo said the closure comes after an extended examination of the facility's viability. The evaluation found mounting material and logistics costs, dated infrastructure, intermittent financial performance and changing market conditions. You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
Some of the employees had worked there for just months, others had worked there for decades. They all told me they had no warning the entire facility would be shutting down for good.
“It was earth-shattering. Changes your life forever. I mean it's sad. It’s heartbreaking. No notice – no nothing,” said Derrek Palmisano who worked at the facility for more than 12 years.
He held up a sign saying “Sumitomo, we are tired of getting screwed, 1550 + employees.”
Zach Lowerre has been with the plant for just 10 months but said just days ago they were told they hit a record-setting tire-making day for passenger vehicles.
"Had a record-setting day of over 10,000 tires built that they've never had over 10,000 tires built in the history of the plant – now we just don't have jobs a couple of days later,” Lowerre recalled.
State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt joined the workers and their families to show his support.
“Bad day for Western New York, bad day for New York, obviously a bad day for these poor folks behind me,” Senator Rob Ortt remarked.
“It’s disappointing to me that the state had no heads up,” Ortt noted. “This is their North American footprint. I assume they are going to sell tires still to North America, so to close this and give all these people pink slips just doesn't make sense a whole lot of sense to me.”
Families now scrambling to figure out what's next, like Sandra Primiano whose husband has worked at the plant for 25 years.
"It scares the hell out of me. I have health problems I worry about our health insurance. What are we going to do,” Primano replied. “What are half these guys, that are ready to retire, where are we going to get jobs?”
Elected leaders on both sides of the aisle are outraged by the shutdown and are trying to find answers to help employees.
Last week, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Congressman Nick Langworthy said they were shocked over the sudden closure. You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
Sumitomo defended how it shut down the plant sending a rundown of answers to questions, claiming even after pouring $400 million into the plant, it lost $790 million in the last decade.
You can watch a breakdown of the five-page FAQ document sent out by Sumitomo Rubber and read the full document below.
The workers said they are still waiting to see what unemployment looks like for them, as they await word on on possible severance packages. Workers said they are hearing the union could be meeting with company leaders on Wednesday.
“The union is bargaining with the company, as far as I know about our severance packages – we’ll be alright for a little bit, but I thought I could be here long term. So, I will have to restart and start that process from the beginning again,” Lowerre noted.
Some employees boldly marched to the front of the plant to voice their outrage.
A handful of local businesses and state offices have extended lifelines to the laid-off employees. You can find more information here.
