CHICAGO | The theme was loud and clear: "Let's keep it made in America!"
Billed as a town hall meeting Wednesday at the Museum of Science and Industry, it was the seventh such event around the country supported by the United Steelworkers and sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a nonprofit organization, to convince Americans that outsourcing manufacturing jobs is ultimately harmful to America.
"Why did it take us so long to realize that we got the short end of the stick?" said John Ratzenberger, host of the Travel Channel's "Made in America" television series, who emceed the meeting.
Some of the hardest-hit states include Illinois and Ohio, which lost 79,900
and 66,100 jobs, respectively, since 2001. Calculated as a share of total state employment, one of the big losers was Indiana, which lost 45,200 jobs in the same time period, or 1.5 percent of state employment.
Although more than one speaker at the meeting admitted that globalization was here to stay, arguments were made by business owners, employees and politicians that manufacturing jobs need to stay within U.S. borders to stay competitive, prevent further unemployment and maintain the property tax base in manufacturing areas.
Bob Conn, a retired steelworker who had 26 years of specializing in quality assurance, expressed dismay about the trend.
"Back in the 1980s, U.S. Steel went down to South America to help them build plants. Why would you want to teach them when they are the competition?"
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pointed to the trade deals made between the U.S.
and foreign countries as partly to blame for the trend.
"Globalism is as inevitable as gravity -- but we can compete competitively
when the rules are fair," he added.
Durbin also stated that the rising cost of health care makes it difficult
for U.S. auto manufacturers to compete with their foreign counterparts.
Many in attendance argued that Chinese trade practices are in violation of law.
Jim Robinson, director of United Steelworkers Local 1010, in East Chicago,
said foreign trade deals need proper execution in order to protect
the American manufacturer.
"We already have laws on the books that would stop Chinese currency manipulation, but we don't enforce them," Robinson said.
