Michelin North America Inc.’s Chairman and President Pete Selleck is stepping into what may be South Carolina’s biggest, most long-lasting political controversy — the flying of the Confederate flag on the State Capitol grounds.
Selleck is adding his two cents the same day South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said, “it’s time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds.” Her announcement comes less than a week after a gunman shot and killed nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston who had gathered for a Bible study.
Here is Selleck’s statement in full:
"We continue to grieve for the families of the victims of the Charleston shootings, for the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church community, for our state and for our nation. We respect this time of mourning and know that healing will not come easily for those personally affected by this tragedy.
Michelin applauds Governor Haley's call to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds and agrees that the flag must be immediately removed. We are ready to support our elected officials as they take the necessary steps to do so."
Michelin’s North American headquarters are in Greenville, S.C., and the tire manufacturer has plants in Greenville, Lexington, Spartanburg and Starr. According to a company fact sheet, Michelin employs 9,420 people in the state. Those employees account for 41% of the company’s total workforce in North America.
