Haley Visits Local Alcoa Plant

Governor Nikki Haley toured the Alcoa plant in Goose Creek on Thursday afternoon and met with employees and their families, bringing attention to a rate dispute with utility provider Santee Cooper.

The aluminium production plant rang the alarm in August that . In September, , telling local press that the company provides $110 million in state and local revenue and has a $900 million economic impact in the state.

The calls for help on Thursday didn't just come from the plant managers. Employees talked about the success they've had since they began work at Alcoa.

"It gave me an opportunity right out of high school," said Randy Davis, who noted that he built his own home at 20 and is now getting his college degree while on the job at Alcoa.

Several members of the audience told Haley about wives, brothers, cousins and children who have started working at the plant. "We live it," said John Wilson, a retired Alcoa employee. "It's a great place to work."

Haley told the crowd that she would find a way to address the utility rate issues. The contract with Santee Cooper runs through December 2015. Alcoa has until next June to give notice that it won't renew the contract.

"You've got an army that is ready to fight," she said. "We're not going to let a government-owned utility be the reason that a company shuts down."

The governor said the issue is bigger than the one company. "This is about the fact that I'm bringing jobs here everyday and I need to know this is a region I can bring jobs to," she said.

"It doesn't mean anything if I bring thousands of jobs into South Carolina if we don't take care of the jobs that we have," Haley said.