The Corelle Brands glass plant in Charleroi is going to shut down. Hundreds of people are going to lose their jobs. And I can’t help feeling I’m reliving a nightmare.
I wrote a book called “Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town.” It was based in my hometown of Lancaster, Ohio, and focused on the fate of Anchor Hocking, the glass company that had been, well, the anchor of the city’s economic, civic and social life since 1905.
The bad guy
During the course of my reporting, Anchor Hocking, under the guise of Everyware Global, went bankrupt. At the time, as it is now, the glass company was the town’s largest private employer. Hundreds of people feared for their jobs.
Today, it may appear as if Lancaster and Anchor Hocking are the bad guys in Charleroi’s drama. Anchor Hocking owns the Charleroi plant that makes Pyrex bakeware. Now Anchor is closing it down and wants to move the machines to Lancaster…