Marino says he supports tank work in Archbald

Marino says he supports tank work in Archbald
18 May 2011

U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-10, Lycoming Twp., said he supports continuation of work on tanks at a General Dynamics Land System Division plant.
The congressman toured the General Dynamics Archbald plant Tuesday and met with plant and union officials, along with the men and women who work on the production of the Stryker and the Abrams Main Battle tank.
The workers at the company's Eynon plant have been working to prevent the Army from suspending upgrades to the M1A2 Abrams tank. A letter to Congress from Secretary of the Army John McHugh stated that the cost of shutting down and restarting the Abrams tank production would cost more than the cost of continued limited production. The letter proposed to continue limited production of M1A2 tanks at 70 per year until the next generation of Abrams begins fielding.
"New equipment and blending of two operations will result in newer, better and stronger equipment," said Mr. Marino. "We need a strong defense, and we have a country to run and they depend on us. Its a department we need to keep funding."
Letters were sent and questions were asked by employees about their jobs. "We can't forget about the support of the staff and the sincerity of the employees, I feel good out here on the floor as I did while in Afghanistan," Mr. Marino said.
"You witness the passion and pride of employees," said Ken Klinkel, president of Local 1193 of the United States Auto Workers. "We are working for the government and do our best to do what we do."
Mr. Marino spoke about how this operation is crucial to the U.S. and how he spent time with troops in Afghanistan on the training fields.
"I asked them their feelings about going home and if they had everything they need," Rep. Marino said. "They told me we have a mission to complete here and the equipment is first rate."
"Building critical tank components is important," said Frank Fata, manager of the General Dynamics plant in Eynon. "We have a ton of pride for specialized workforce."
Mr. Marino spoke about how the company is based on a team effort and that he could take back to Washington, D.C., the fact that they are doing the right thing to keep funding for what we need.
"Heightened sense of security defense will always be a priority, regardless of what we do, these people will keep trying to attack us. Our mission is to preserve this country," he said. (Source: thetimes-tribune.com)


Source;

http://bit.ly/jRNaMg


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.