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Dear editor:
The recent letter by Nicholas Pyle attacking our popular elected representative for defending local jobs is both offensive and inaccurate.
Mr. Pyle runs a for-hire lobbying firm in Washington, DC, and he operates a Political Action Committee that doles out cash to congressional campaigns. He is a paid attack dog, and he is angry that Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) will not do his bidding and vote to bankrupt the Domino Sugar Refinery in Yonkers.
Ironically, Pyle criticizes the Congressman for receiving financial support from the local sugar industry over a distinguished 28-year career. And he claims that campaign contributions are the only reason Engel refuses to outsource America’s sugar production to subsidized foreign competitors.
That’s absurd. Engel, just like most of America’s elected representatives, supports U.S. sugar policy because it keeps good-paying jobs in our country. This policy operates without taxpayer cost; it has kept sugar prices steady and affordable since the ‘80s; and it makes sure U.S. farmers and workers don’t take a backseat to foreign countries where sugar is produced under harsh labor conditions.
Domino has operated continuously in Yonkers since 1938. For those of us who live here, the refinery is a source of pride that contributes millions to the local economy and provides good-paying union jobs for our community.
Mr. Pyle has sent identical letters all over the country attacking lawmakers who vote in their constituents’ interests instead of his. And he continues to insult America’s 142,000 sugar workers by likening us to a drug-like “cartel.”
Attacking elected officials and using incendiary language to belittle blue-collar workers and farmers is not smart politics. That may explain why Pyle and his lobbying colleagues have lost every vote in their decades-long quest to enrich multinational food companies.
Sincerely,
Matt C. Shue
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