Few things are more important to small communities than safe, steady jobs. In Ashtabula, plants like ours don’t just provide a paycheck — they help families build a life, raise children, and support local businesses. The work we do at the INEOS facility plays a direct role in keeping this community strong and the nation running.
We are proud members of Teamsters Local 377 and the International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC) Local 1033C. For years, workers at this plant had a level of stability we could count on. Today, we are on strike because the company is demanding a contract that would take us backward.
Between the two of us, we have more than 50 years in this plant — 30 years in maintenance and 24 years in production. For most of our time working here, there was a level of stability we could count on.
That all changed when INEOS took over the facility in 2019.
Within weeks, the company stopped funding our pensions. Soon after, they replaced our health insurance with a plan that tripled premiums. They’ve reduced staffing, cut back on maintenance, and pushed more work onto fewer people. Where there were once 39 mechanics, there are now 27.
In production, we’ve lost relief operators and the workers who made it possible to take weekends off or even schedule a doctor’s appointment. Workers are being forced into 12-hour rotating shifts, sometimes for weeks at a time. One of us worked 24 straight 12-hour shifts.
Instead of addressing these problems, the company is demanding more concessions. Over the years, we’ve given up sick time, dropping from 21 days to 10. Now the company wants to cut that to just two days and ultimately eliminate excused sick leave altogether.
Under their proposal, workers would be penalized for every day they are out, even when they’re sick. That’s not a solution. It’s a policy that puts pressure on workers to come in when they shouldn’t, creating serious safety risks in an already demanding environment.