Newby's right: Wisconsin jobs threatened

An eidtorial  —  10/04/2008 11:18 am

Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby is right when he says that the 2008 election "might be our last chance really at getting the kind of economic policies and trade policies in place that are going to save the industrial sector of our economy."

Presidents Clinton and Bush adopted policies, particularly on trade, that have done severe damage to the economies of manufacturing states such as Wisconsin.

It's not just the closure threat that looms over the General Motors plant in Janesville.

The state's paper industry is disappearing, as has our cookware industry.

These are bad times. And the bad times result, at least in part, from federal policies that encourage multinational corporations to embark on races to the bottom that see them shutter plants in Wisconsin and move the jobs overseas. Those policies have diminished living standards in the U.S. and in the countries with which Washington insiders have crafted corporation-friendly trade agreements. They have undermined environmental protections and they have created grave dangers for consumers, as recent scares involving imported toys and food confirm.

Trade is not bad. But bad trade policies are bad for Wisconsin.

John McCain says he wants more of them.

That, in and of itself, should disqualify the Republican as a contender in Wisconsin.

Newby's right. Our manufacturing sector does not have much time. It cannot afford another free-trade president who listens to Wall Street rather than Main Street when it comes to setting trade policies.

The Wisconsin AFL-CIO announced a new effort this week to educate its 50,000 members in the state by Election Day on where the candidates stand on economic issues important to working families. Similar efforts are under way in other battleground states.

At its annual convention in Milwaukee this week, the group included a discussion of race amid fears by some that the union rank-and-file will not support Barack Obama this fall because he is African-American.

Newby said some of the delegates expressed concerns about how race may influence the union vote and told leaders they weren't sure exactly how to address it with the rank-and-file. Newby said their advice was to stress the issues and try to get people to focus on those.

"I think there was a certain awakening for some people that you didn't have to be talking about that issue directly, although there's no reason why you can't, and recognizing that, OK, this may be a problem for you, but isn't it more important for you to keep a job and change the economic policies of this country so the economy doesn't continue to tank and we don't continue to have international trade agreements that take away from your job?" Newby said.

Newby said Wisconsin's unions remain strong, but the economy is frightening with rising unemployment, plant closings, international pressure, "bad trade agreements that have had a real impact on the paper industry and in some cases simply bad management or corporate greed, which has resulted in the shutting of manufacturing facilities.

"The reality is that I think as far as our unions are concerned that they are better run and better organized than they have been for many decades and yet we are facing an economy that is very frightening," Newby said.

An eidtorial  —  10/04/2008 11:18 am