HEARING CONCERNS — Moore Capito, Republican candidate for West Virginia governor, speaks with local media following a meeting with members and officials with the United Steelworkers Local 2911 in Weirton Friday. -- Craig Howell

WEIRTON — One of the Republican candidates for West Virginia governor visited Weirton Friday, meeting with members and officials of the United Steelworkers Local 2911, one month after Cleveland-Cliffs announced its plans to idle the local tin mill.

Moore Capito, former delegate and one of six candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, spent more than an hour Friday morning, meeting with employees of the tin mill to hear their concerns about the future.

“We’re here listening to the hard workers of West Virginia,” Capito said.

On the morning of Feb. 15, officials with Cleveland-Cliffs announced an indefinite idling of the tinplate operations in the city, the final vestige of what once had been Weirton Steel Corp., pointing to a decision earlier in the month by the U.S. International Trade Commission overruling proposed tariffs on tin imports from Canada, China, Germany and South Korea.

The idling is expected to mean the loss of more than 900 jobs for area residents, but Capito noted the decision also affects the families of those 900 workers, as well as other aspects of the community.

“We’re not just talking about 900 jobs,” he said.

Capito said members of the USW he met with Friday have a lot of questions concerning the idling and what actions are being taken, both by the company, as well as efforts by government officials.

“Folks are concerned,” he said. “There is a lot that’s unknown.”

A crowd gathered in front of the Millsop Community Center on March 9 in an effort to rally the community in the cause, with union officials explaining Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act letters are set to go out beginning April 15, but that there still is the possibility the ITC ruling could be overturned through the executive action of President Joe Biden, which is allowed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

In the last week, Weirton City Council and the Hancock County Commissioners have been among those adding their voices to the rallying cry, drafting and preparing to send letters to Biden, along with Gov. Jim Justice; Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; and others in the hope of such an override.

On Friday, Moore Capito said it is important to show such support and stick together, not just in Weirton, but throughout West Virginia, standing as a community to show the importance of the state, its people and its industries for the benefit of the nation.

“We’re going to continue to raise that voice,” Capito said.