'This is personal': Politicians join workers, union in fight against Charleroi glass plant shutdown

Madaleine Rubin / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Charleroi Borough councilman Larry Celaschi lifted a glass blowing pipe over his head and declared: “This is personal.”

“This is an original glass blowing pipe that my grandfather, Pete Celaschi, used when he was an employee here for 50 years,” he said on Friday, standing in front of a Washington County glass factory that has drawn the attention of the Pennsylvania Senate race, in a city that flashed uncomfortably in the national spotlight when former President Donald Trump spoke about the borough’s Haitian migrant population at a rally last week.

But Mr. Celaschi was grateful for any attention he could bring to the Corelle Brands plant, operated by glass bakeware and houseware manufacturer Anchor Hocking. The company announced in early September plans to close the factory and move all services to a plant in Lancaster, Ohio.

He stood in front of more than 90 factory employees, retirees and borough residents wearing “Keep Making Pyrex in Charleroi” shirts, and next to Republican Senate hopeful David McCormick who decided to make the factory the second stop on his “Price of Poor Leadership Tour.”

The plant’s employees — there are more than 300 — and local officials, whose questions to the plant owner have gone unanswered, are leaning on the political officials to raise the facility’s profile.

“The mayor and I have spoken to hundreds of individuals, and have done over 120 radio, television and podcast interviews since Sept. 4 to put a spotlight on this devastation,” Mr. Celaschi said on Friday. “I even reached out to Paul Magnette, the mayor of Charleroi, Belgium, our sister city where the history of this glass factory all began."

On Tuesday, representatives from the offices of Sen. Bob Casey, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. John Fetterman, as well as Rep. Guy Reschenthaler and state representatives Bud Cook and Camera Bartolotta, were dispatched to Washington County to discuss how to prevent the factory’s closure, said Charleroi Borough council president Kristin Hopkins-Calcek.

“We are talking currently with the people who matter and who can do something and who can put pressure on it,” she said. “We have the highest hopes, and our first priority is to keep this plant in Charleroi open at all costs.”

On Thursday, Mr. Casey sent a letter to Anchor Hocking CEO Mark Eichorn asking the company to explain its decision to shut down the Charleroi factory by the end of the year and questioning details of its acquisition of the operation.

Instant Brands, former operators of the Charleroi factory, filed for bankruptcy with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in June 2023, according to court documents. 

Following an auction process, Instant Brands in October 2023 gained court approval to pursue the sale of its businesses to affiliates of Centre Lane Partners, court documents show. Centre Lane Partners is a private equity firm affiliated with Anchor Hocking.

According to court documents, Instant Brands planned to sell its houseware business — including the Pyrex glassware operation at the Charleroi plant — and appliances business in separate transactions. Both sales required regulatory approval.

In November 2023, the sale of Instant Brands’ appliances business was approved.

But, according to court documents, Instant Brands and Centre Lane Partners “were unable to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals for the housewares sale transaction.”

Mr. Casey’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Post-Gazette, asks Anchor Hocking to clarify how it assumed control of the plant without that approval.

The senator, who makes the case that the industry is healthy, also asked the company to clarify what financial factors are contributing to the plant’s shutdown.

Mr. McCormick, Mr. Casey’s challenger, took the opportunity of Friday’s press conference at the Charleroi plant to criticize the economic policies of the Biden-Harris administration and his rival’s leadership.

“Everybody here — you have a right to be angry,” Mr. McCormick said.

He also questioned the factory’s acquisition and shutdown.

“Why is it more cost efficient in Lancaster, Ohio, than here in Pennsylvania, given the incredible success this plant has had?” he said.

The union, which was told that 150 jobs will be available in Lancaster, has asked the same question.

United Steelworkers Local 53-G Union Vice President Daniele Byrne, who works at the plant, said she has contacted the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Anchor Hocking’s ownership of the plant. Union representatives have also requested a comparison of sales at the Charleroi plant and Lancaster plant.

They have not yet heard back from Anchor Hocking, Ms. Byrne said.

Effects bargaining between the union and Anchor Hocking will begin on Monday. It was delayed from Sept. 13 due to the absence of some union leadership.

Ms. Byrne said negotiations will concern severance packages and what can be done to keep the factory’s doors open.

“We’re seeing some movement, and it’s very positive,” Mr. Celaschi said. “Until this horse is dead, we’re going to continue being aggressive.”