The decision stunned union workers and Milwaukee leaders. Master Lock is closing its Milwaukee facility by March of 2024 after being in the city for a century.
Can the jobs be saved?
"We're hoping and praying we can," said UAW Leader Yolanda Nathan @TheTable Tuesday night.
Nathan is the newly elected president of UAW 469, which represents 330 union workers at the plant.
Wednesday afternoon the union is holding a rally to call on Master Lock to reverse its decision to close a plant that operates three shifts and provides good-paying jobs, many of who live in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood.
"It not only affects employees that work there but the community also, the businesses surrounding it, the school district in that community," said Nathan. It's getting them to understand it's not about the money, it's about the people."
Master Lock said in a statement last week: “This decision is not a reflection of the skills, performance or commitment of the Milwaukee workforce, and it was not made lightly. Rather, this is an opportunity to continue to enhance our supply chain resilience, maximize potential growth of the business and maintain our competitiveness into the future." Read the full statement here.
Nathan said some of the union workers have been at the plant for decades but said the decision to close came without any warning signs.
TMJ4 has invited company leaders to be @TheTable to talk about the plant closing but they declined for now.
Watch the full conversation in the video at the top of this article.
Charles Benson and Shannon Sims interview key people in our community during TMJ4's @TheTable segment weeknights at 10 p.m.
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