About 400 workers at the Whirlpool plant in Amana are facing layoffs, and local labor leaders are stepping in to show support.
The I Am Union and the Hawkeye Area Labor Council held a solidarity rally Friday afternoon at the Amana Performing Arts Center. Workers, union members, and community supporters gathered to speak out about the job cuts, which are scheduled to take effect March 9.
Union leaders are calling on elected officials to respond to the layoffs and help protect local manufacturing jobs.
“The tariffs are supposed to be helping us,” Kerry Waddell, a Whirlpool employee representative, said at the rally. “I’m not sure where that’s coming into play, but we’re hoping that since leaders and the government are pushing for bringing manufacturing back to the United States, that we can get some support. The country seems to be moving in that direction, but Whirlpool seems to be going contrary to what’s happening.”
Union leaders argue that while there has been a national push to strengthen American manufacturing, Whirlpool has invested heavily in manufacturing operations in Mexico. At the same time, jobs at the Amana facility have continued to shrink.
Workers and union representatives say they are concerned about the impact the layoffs will have on families and the local economy. They are urging state and federal leaders to step in and work toward solutions that would keep jobs in the area.
The layoffs are set to begin March 9.