1400 Union Workers Beg Manchin To Save WV Pharma Plant Outsourcing, Daughter Got $31 Mill Deal

[appalachiablue]

- Workers Beg Joe Manchin to Save Pharma Plant as His Daughter Walks Away with $31M. July 28, 2021. Democracy Now! More than 1,400 workers in are set to lose their jobs this week when the Viatris pharmaceuticals plant in Morgantown, WV closes & moves operations overseas to India & Australia. They’ve had no response to their urgent requests for help from their Dem. senator, Joe Manchin, often called the most powerful man in DC. The co. was formed through a merger between 2 pharmaceutical companies, Mylan & Upjohn. Mylan’s chief executive, Manchin’s daughter Heather Bresch, got a $31M payout from the corp. consolidation before the new co. set about cutting costs, incl. closure of the Morgantown plant.

Jos. Gouzd, pres. of United Steelworkers of America Local 8-957 & a worker at the plant, says Viatris has given little reason for the closure except to say the company is looking to “maximize the best interests of the shareholders.” Invest. journalist Katherine Eban says moving pharma. production overseas contradicts the recommendations of many reports on major safety lapses in drug mfg. abroad & lawmakers concern about keeping a key industry within the U.S. “This is pure insanity,” Eban says. “It seems like it is both pharmaceutical & national security suicide to close this plant.”
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- More: 'Joe Manchin Is Ghosting The West Virginia Union Workers Whose Jobs His Daughter Helped Outsource,' Inter Reviewed/Vanity Fair, July 2021,
https://interreviewed.com/joe-manchin-is-ghosting-the-west-virginia-union-workers-whose-jobs-his-daughter-helped-outsource/

On July 31, one of America’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturing plants is scheduled to close. Located on 22 acres in Morgantown, WV, the plant, built in 1965 by longstanding American generics company Mylan Labs., has produced 61 drug products. Its 1,431 highly trained workers – analytical chemists, industrial engineers and senior hygienists among them – are represented by the union of steelworkers. All are expected to be laid off by the end of the month.

The Biden administration has a goal of ramping up domestic pharmaceutical production, & the Morgantown plant is one of a dwindling number of facilities on home soil that produce vital & affordable medicine for the U.S. market. The plant has also lifted hundreds of West Virginia families into the middle class, with the children of its employees going on to become doctors & lawyers.

For years, Mylan’s flagship factory has weathered an industry-wide tsunami of outsourcing even as Western pharmaceutical companies move production capacity abroad, looking for cheaper labor, weaker environmental regulations, & greater distances from the FDA’s keen inspectors. The Morgantown plant is still going strong. Because of the plant’s exemplary inspection record & large scale of operations, the FDA has used it for decades as a training ground for its inspectors.. - More,
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/07/joe-manchin-is-ghosting-the-west-virginia-union-workers | Joe Manchin Is Ghosting the West Virginia Union Workers Whose Jobs His Daughter Helped Outsource

[enough]

1. A perfect example of how things actually work in the U.S. NT

[kysrsoze]

2. Don't hold your breath, workers. Is anyone surprised? DINO.

[Traildogbob]

5. This will be

Pushed through right wing media as Liberal, “demoncrat” job destroying policy and his daughter as evil Democrat greed. In doing so, we may no longer have to deal with his power ego, (sarcasm) they will put a republican in his seat.

[miyazaki]

3. Kick.

[wyn borkins]

4. Joe Manchin At Work :: NOT (!)

An older MetroNews item, but still current, as related to the Morgantown plant closing: Viatris files official WARN notice detailing closure of Morgantown plant (by Jeff Jenkins, 27 May 2012).

[rickyhall]

6. But Manchin is not a crook, right?

[crimycarny]

7. Too many pharma moving overseas--puts US at risk

Didn't the pandemic teach us anything? The US was at real risk for not having access to critical drugs because so many are made overseas now. In fact, Joe Biden said he was going to try and move pharma manufacturing back to the US. I hope Biden follows through.

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/biden-plans-move-pharma-manufacturing-us/

There is also zero oversight by FDA of these foreign pharma plants. FDA doesn't have enough resources to inspect overseas plants, and even when they do inspect they have to give several months' notice for diplomatic reasons.

This whistleblower's revelations from one of the largest generic manufacturers overseas are terrifying. Years ago I noticed when I used generics they didn't work the same, or not at all.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ranbaxy-whistleblower-reveals-how-he-exposed-massive-pharmaceutical-fraud/

[appalachiablue]

8. Very dangerous situation w pharma, Tx for posts

[crimycarny]

12. It's pretty frightening--a great book exposing the generic drug industry.

Investigative reporter Katherine Eban wrote a book "Bottle of Lies: The inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom" which exposed outright fraud by the largest overseas drug manufacturers. Honestly, Congress needs to look into this. Some of the things uncovered in Katherine's investigation were critical drugs like HIV, cardio meds, immunosuppressants (for transplant patients) that had very low to no active ingredients in them.

Some US transplant patients ended up needing another transplant because the generic immunosuppressants didn't work. Several cardiologists noticed that when they switched their patients to generics they started having problems that disappeared when they were switched back to the brand name. Exports of HIV meds to third world countries that had NO active ingredients--and the companies knew this!

Scary stuff. We need to have generics manufactured in the US where they can be more closely monitored.

[appalachiablue]

20. It's shocking to learn what is happening

inside the big pharma industry and with prescription meds. Some people I know wouldn't want to hear or believe the ugly truth. Thanks, I'll find Katherine Eban's book, her investigative work is excellent.

[padah513]

9. Neera Tanden was right.

[rainin]

10. This is tragic. Each of these 1400+ families is facing almost certain financial ruin

in a town with so few alternative job opportunities. I shudder to think what will happen to them. This is so wrong! It sounds like the whole Manchin family is making bank off this plant. It makes you wonder who else they're bankrupting for profit in WV.

[appalachiablue]

11. National disgrace- human greed + late stage

capitalism.

[Ilsa]

13. His daughter should be made to move to India.

I hope the Biden Administration can save the plant, no thanks to Manchin.

[KS Toronado]

14. You'd think his daughter would want to keep the plant open

to help her dad's reelection chances. But maybe she values $31 million more.

[IronLionZion]

15. As long as his family gets rich off it

[monkeyman1]

16. why can't another drug company buy the plant & do same with the drug plant ?

make American drug's their & keep the plant running ?

[NCjack]

18. Money is to be made. On the expense side, American labor costs

become Indian labor costs. CEOs and boards who sell us out have no love for USA -- they want the money!

[Pepsidog]

17. This should not be allowed to happen. Outrageous.

[SunImp]

19. What is wrong with this guy?