CONVERSING — Mark Glyptis, front left, president of United Steelworkers Local 2911, spoke with individuals during a Saturday rally at American Legion Post 10 in support of union workers at the Cleveland-Cliffs tin mill in Weirton. From left are Glyptis; David Russo and Republican primary candidates Scott Adams and Dennis “Nate” Cain. -- Christopher Dacanay

WEIRTON — A rally at American Legion Post 10 saw two primary election candidates express their support for union workers at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Weirton tin mill Saturday.

Dennis “Nate” Cain, Republican primary candidate for West Virginia U.S. Congress District 2, and Scott Adams, Republican primary candidate for West Virginia State Senate District 1, spoke at the rally, presented by Cain’s campaign but billed as a nonpartisan event.

“I have not been endorsed by the union … (or) the American Legion,” Cain said during the rally. “I am here on my own as a private citizen and as somebody who’s running for office because I care about the people. … I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, … but I will tell you what absolutely matters is that the people we send to Washington are going to remember the people who sent them there.”

The event came one month after Cleveland-Cliffs Weirton employees organized their own rally outside the Millsop Community Center, which drew several hundred supporters.

Mark Glyptis, president of United Steelworkers Local 2911, also shared comments and an update on the ongoing fight to save the mill, which he said is set to be idled starting April 20.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ decision to idle the mill indefinitely came Feb. 15, more than a week after the International Trade Commission unanimously overruled findings by the Department of Commerce in an anti-dumping and countervailing duty trade case jointly filed by Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers Union. The case alleged that a surge of imported tin products had caused the company material injury, a claim the ITC rejected 4-0.

A former U.S. military cybersecurity contractor, Cain said he hoped the rally would bring individuals hope.

Cain himself, who claims to be a whistleblower on the alleged FBI cover-up of supposed crimes by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will compete in the May 14 W.Va. Republican primary election against Joseph Earley, Alexander Gaaserud, Riley Moore and Chris Walker. The winner will go on to compete against the Democratic candidate for the seat currently held by Rep. Alex Mooney, R-Charles Town, who is seeking the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Joe Manchin.

Cain recalled being “so distraught” upon hearing the news about Weirton’s mill. He soon reached out to David Russo, founding member of a multi-company holding group in the renewable energy, electricity and utility fields. Russo was in attendance at the rally, at Cain’s invitation, and Cain noted the two had spoken about the area’s potential for green energy developments.

Recovering from the idling will require making lemonade from lemons, Cain said, working to counter the Biden administration’s efforts against coal, oil and gas. That will mean looking at grant opportunities to build new developments that will create jobs and enhance West Virginia’s existing industries.

Additionally, Cain criticized the $290 million incentive package that brought Form Energy’s battery plant to Weirton, saying that the money, if split more ways, could have brought in a larger amount of small companies that would together create more jobs than the 750 promised by the battery plant alone.

In the primary, Adams will compete against incumbent Ryan Weld, R-Wellsburg, who has served in the seat since 2016.

A retired West Virginia State Police officer with five years in the organization’s Crimes Against Children Unit, Adams said he is the son of a Wheeling-Pittsburgh steelworker, so he can empathize with steelworker family’s struggles.

A first-time candidate, Adams said he is running because legislators in Charleston and Washington D.C. have “lost complete sight of who they represent” and special interest money “runs the show.” Adams claimed his opponent is among those who has lost sight, further claiming that Weld has accepted “lots” of political action committee money.

In the legislature where Weld and others are allegedly “bought and paid for,” Adams said he will do everything he can to represent people in the district, disregarding party politics to focus on the cares of the people.

Adams said Cleveland-Cliffs’ situation “could’ve all been avoided with the stroke of a pen.” His own proposed solution for the job crisis going forward is to mandate that operations like Form Energy’s battery plant must hire West Virginia or Ohio Valley workers if they’re to receive incentives for setting up shop in the area.

“If they’re getting something from West Virginia, they ought to be mandated to hire West Virginia workers,” Adams said.

With the Weirton tin mill’s idling, around 950 employees will be laid off, a result that Glyptis said is a “result of our government not representing America.”

Glyptis said that, upon the ITC’s ruling Feb. 6, the Weirton mill’s customers turned to foreign tin markets. U.S. citizens can now expect their tin cans to be made of foreign tin, not to mention the food being processed internationally, Glyptis claimed.

The ITC’s decision was “devastating and totally un-American,” Glyptis said. Four hundred individuals will be laid off initially come April 20, Glyptis said, and more will eb laid off in stages every week after that. The lay-offs, he said, will have far-reaching effects on workers’ families and the whole stage of West Virginia.

“I feel so strongly about this,” Glyptis said. “I get so upset about it, that I feel — and I said this in Washington in front of a bunch of legislators — I said, ‘I feel like coming in here with a bullhorn and giving you guys like 10 minutes to get out of the building before I blow it up.’ It’s so wrong that our legislators support other people other than the people that elect them.”

To turn around the ITC’s decision would be “almost impossible,” Glyptis said, but there may be a chance to amend the decision. In the end, Glyptis said, he believes there will be a positive outcome for the mill workers. Progress is being made slowly, but a ruling will be adjudicated to bring about fairness on the global trade scale.

Glyptis’ advice to listeners: “I’d like for you to vote for the right people. Vote for honest … people who represent America, who represent all of us.” He added that individuals should write to their legislators to increase pressure.