USW Local 689 Leverages the Power of Community to Reindustrialize Former Ports Site

USW Local 689 has had a longstanding inside joke that their zealous political activism, community involvement, and service would all converge on one critical goal: taking over the world. 

Their meaning, according to retired USW Local 689 president and Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) board chair Herman Potter, is simple: “We want to have influence everywhere. We want to be a centerpiece of our community.” 

Local 689 is doing just that. 

The local’s Appalachian Career Empowerment (ACE) Training Program, offered in conjunction with SODI, is playing a critical role in the reindustrialization of the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. 

The training program is instrumental in supporting emerging industrial opportunities in Southern Ohio through workforce development and training. 

A sampling of their current and upcoming initiatives includes:

• Pursuing $12M in US EDA Economic Adjustment Assistance Funds to create a multi-use training, laboratory, archival, and office complex at the Ports site;
• Supporting BWX Technologies’ Project Buckeye, which would establish a commercial uranium enrichment facility to support the broader defense fuel supply chain;
• Launching the Ohio University Engineering Technology and Management Program in the fall of 2026 to provide advanced training certificates in mechatronics and automation;
• Offering training in advanced manufacturing, robotics, and large-format 3D printing through a partnership with Vitruvian 3D Printing;
• Establishing training in the foundations of data center operations in conjunction with Ohio University’s McClure School of Engineering Communication Technologies. 

The beauty of these partnerships, according to Potter, lies in their ability to serve the broader community for the benefit of everyone. 

“We’re working with our local community and saying ‘hey, we’ll give your kids free training for good-paying, union jobs’ and we’re doing that to make this area better,” he said. “Of course, we want to grow as a union, but we also want to make life better for everyone. That goes a long way.” 

Read more about Local 689’s partnership with ACE here.