Back in April, the West Virginia Legislature passed HR 24, a resolution urging Gov. Jim Justice to form a task force that would petition President Biden to use the Defense Production Act to save the Mylan plant here in Morgantown. (Technically Viatris, but it will always be Mylan to us.)
Unfortunately, Justice has fallen down on the job, but it seems our U.S. senators may be willing to take up the cause and carry it all the way to the White House.
Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin indicated last week they would be willing to bring the issue of the plant’s closure before the president. Capito said she’s been talking with “community leaders” and Viatris officials while Manchin has gone as far as to approach perspective buyers and investors, such as Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban. However, apparently neither had thought to talk to Biden or his proxies. We (collectively, as a state) have been talking about getting Biden on board for months — as evidenced by the passage of HR 24 and the allocation of $30 million in surplus funds to close a deal — but for some reason, the senators are just now getting the memo. Still, better late than never. They’ll need to act fast, though, because the clock is ticking.
The Defense Production Act gives the president the authority to “enter into contracts and to require the prioritized fulfillment of those contracts over all others. The laws also included the power to allocate materials and facilities for their fulfillment,” according to LawFare.
The strain the pandemic has put on international supply chains — particularly related to medication and medical equipment — highlights the need for American-made products. Part of Biden’s platform has been saving and reclaiming American factory jobs, and his assistance with the Mylan plant would be a political victory for him — a promise kept — and an economic victory for us — both the state and the country. Manchin could even use this as a bargaining chip: Use the DPA to save the Morgantown plant and Manchin will give his unwavering support to one of Biden’s top priorities.
The elephant in the room — underlying all negotiations among plant workers, politicians and Viatris — is the fact Viatris benefits from closing the Morgantown plant and keeping it closed. Of course, moving production to India increases the company’s profits: Labor is cheaper and regulations more lax. Holding on to the dormant Morgantown plant will likely cost much less than Viatris will be making from the outsourced production, and keeping the successful stateside plant as a Viatris asset keeps it out of the hands of a competitor who could cut into their revenue. In other words, Viatris has little-to-no economic incentive to sell the plant.
A little presidential pressure might change that, though. If Biden publicly announces his support for the sale and dedicates some of the resources at his disposal to finding a buyer and brokering a deal, Viatris is more likely to follow through on a transaction. Under the scrutiny of the highest office in the United States, two U.S. senators, one state governor, one state Legislature and all the accompanying media attention, Viatris would probably negotiate in good faith, if for no other reason than to avoid bad PR.
