Fran Madore, president of United Mine Workers Local 717, blamed Remington Arms expansion to Alabama on New York’s SAFE Act which was passed by Democrats last year. Since New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D.) signed the SAFE Gun Control Act, multiple gun companies have left the state. And, now Remington will not build its new plant there.
Governor’s Cuomo’s spoeksman Rich Azzopardi tried to spin the news as a non-issue.
@RichAzzopardi @GannettAlbany The fact is 2,000 jobs are going to Alabama, not "Open for Business" New York.
— Steve McLaughlin (@SteveMcNY) February 16, 2014
Syracuse.com reported:
A union official said Saturday the Remington Arms Co.’s decision to open a manufacturing plant in Alabama does not bode well for Ilion, and he’s blaming New York’s SAFE Act restrictions on assault weapons.
“It can’t be good,” said Fran Madore, president of United Mine Workers Local 717, which represents 1,180 of the 1,300 Remington employees in Ilion. “How can it be good?”
Madore said plant officials told him they wanted to meet with him Monday. They did not say what they wanted to talk about, but Madore said he assumes it will be about the company’s reported plans to open a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Ala.
AL.com reported Saturday that the Huntsville facility could employ up to 2,000 people. It said details could be revealed on Monday about plans for a Remington facility in a former Chrysler plant near Huntsville International Airport.
Military Times reported that the company’s expansion in Alabama would not affect Remington’s operations in Ilion. But Madore said he’s afraid the company has soured on New York because of the passage of the SAFE Act, which bans assault weapons such as the AR-15 made by Remington.
Madore said he’s worried the company will move jobs out of Ilion, the Herkimer County village where the company has been making firearms since 1816.