AB&I had the opportunity to host a foundry tour for County Supervisor Keith Carson on February 27th. Supervisor Carson represents the 5th District on a platform dedicated to inclusive and accessible government. His district includes parts of Oakland, namely the West Oakland, North Oakland, Rockridge and Montclair neighborhoods.
From the time Supervisor Carson got out of his car in the parking lot, he was impressed by how many team members offered to help him find his way to the offices upstairs. He remarked, “That shows how dedicated your team is.” Michael Lowe and Zeydi Gutierrez met with Supervisor Carson to talk about AB&I, its rich history, work in the community and culture.
They were pleasantly surprised to learn that Supervisor Carson held jobs in manufacturing while making his way through college. He is familiar with the history of manufacturing in the bay area and especially in Oakland, and through his work at the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, he is working on developing the workforce committee to elevate jobs in the manufacturing sector. He also understands how our industry provides middle income jobs that are needed for the city to thrive. His son worked at NUMI and was laid off when it closed, and he has another son who is an electrician.
Rich Watson and Dale Darling lead him on a tour of the foundry and he was fascinated by our processes, but more so, by our team members.