American Bridge President Jessica Mackler issued the following statement on Donald Trump celebrating his “deal” to give Carrier millions in tax breaks as it continues to outsource:
“For his entire career, Donald Trump has outsourced, imported foreign labor, and profited off companies that offshore jobs. Trump claimed he’d ‘bring back jobs,’ but now he’s celebrating a deal to give away millions in tax breaks to an outsourcing company that’s shipping 1,300 jobs to Mexico. Empty campaign promises aside, Trump is clearly still an outsourcer at heart.”
Background:
“[T]he scant details that have emerged so far raise doubts about the extent of the victory. By enabling Carrier’s Indianapolis plant to stay open, the deal spares about 800 union workers whose jobs were going to be outsourced to Mexico, according to federal officials who were briefed by the heating and air conditioning company. This suggests that hundreds will still lose their jobs at the factory, where roughly 1,400 workers were slated to be laid off.” [AP, 11/30/16]
More Than 250,000 U.S. Jobs Will Be Sent Overseas This Year. According to CNN, “More than 250,000 jobs will be lost due to plant closing announcements this year, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Saving the Carrier jobs is “only a drop in the bucket,” said John Challenger, the firm’s CEO. In fact there are thousands of more jobs that will be lost from plant closings in Indiana alone in the coming months. One plant that is still scheduled to move to Mexico is owned by United Technologies (UTX), the same parent company that owns Carrier. The electronic controls factory has 700 workers in Huntington, Indiana. A bearing plant in Indianapolis owned by Rexnord is also planning to ship its jobs to Mexico. Union officials say about 350 jobs will be lost in that move.” [CNN, 12/1/16]
Trump and Outsourcing
Trump has consistently profited off companies that outsource — including Carrier Corporation. And that’s just the start of Trump‘s hypocrisy on the issue. Essentially every Trump-branded product is (was, for the many now-defunct goods) manufactured overseas; from Bangladesh and Vietnam, to Hon
Trump has also brought in thousands of foreign workers over the years, having sought “at least 1,100 foreign worker visas since 2000.” Even as he’s launched his presidential bid, Trump companies have continued to bring in foreign workers, including at his Mar-a-Lago club and at Trump Vineyard.
Published: Dec 1, 2016