WASHINGTON, June 25, 2026 — The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) welcomed a letter from U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth ( D-Ill.), urging Dana Inc. to engage in good-faith bargaining with the union over the closure of its Robinson, Ill., automotive gasket manufacturing plant.
Dana Inc. has announced it will permanently close the facility, which has anchored the Crawford County community since 1968. The closure will displace 69 IAM-represented workers, with layoffs expected to begin in June and the plant fully shuttered by Oct. 1.
“These are 69 families in Crawford County who built their lives around this plant, and Dana Inc. owes them more than a pink slip,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “We thank Senators Durbin and Duckworth for standing with these workers and demanding that Dana come to the table and do right by the people who built this company’s success for nearly six decades.”
In their letter to Dana Chairman and CEO R. Bruce McDonald, the senators urged the company to “engage in meaningful and good-faith effects bargaining” with the IAM and to provide a “comprehensive transition package” for affected workers, including support for those seeking transfers to other Dana or IAM-represented facilities.
“Robinson isn’t just a factory town; it’s a community that Dana Inc. has leaned on for almost 60 years, and now it’s time for Dana to lean in for these workers,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli. “We appreciate Senators Durbin and Duckworth for adding their voices to this fight. The IAM will keep pushing Dana to negotiate in good faith and deliver the transition support these members have earned.”
Read the complete letter here.
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada.
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