We want to inform you of the elimination of critical Fire Department Roles in the Freeport Plants A and B. Dow Chemical announced that the company will lay off or package up to 2000 employees globally and would affect sites in Freeport and Oyster Creek.  The leadership at the Dow Freeport site made the announcement of job restructuring and several plant closings, however there are job sensitive roles within the bargained for areas that are so safety critical the Union believes it affects the community and Brazoria County.

The Fire department consists of Fire & Rescue, EMT, Paramedics and Security for the Dow Chemical Company in Freeport. Eliminating these jobs will create a hole in safety for all the plants in Freeport and surrounding areas. The Fire Department in Dow is some of the best trained emergency response teams for chemical operation in the northern hemisphere. They are there to prevent, protect and respond to unplanned events, injuries, fatalities, safety hazards, safety showers and any emergency that may arise.  The Fire Department has responded in the past to fires and chemical releases throughout the county and surrounding areas.

Many customers in Plant’s A and B use the Dow Fire Department as their resource, including Olin Corp, Braskem, SK, Vopak and others that do not include the thousands of contractors that work in these plants. Dows Fire Department has had day operators working Monday through Friday during peak critical times to make sure everyone in these plants are safe. Announcing that these jobs are no longer needed has put the safety of the site and community at a very high risk of a potential catastrophe. 

We ask you to let Dow Chemical know that this is not good for the community and that you encourage them not to eliminate these safety sensitive roles.