FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Missouri Chrysler Plant Shut Downs, Economy in Freefall; Bush and Akin Agenda to Erode US Manufacturing
Contact: Kevin Caravelli, 314-537-5435, Kevin@DeLearForCongress.org
Matt Pidgeon, 314-322-1077, Matt@pi2advertising.com
For more information please visit: http://www.DeLearForCongress.org
St. Louis, MO, July 14, 2008 – The City of Fenton and area school districts received terrible news nearly two weeks ago with the announcement that Chrysler intends to close the St. Louis South Assembly Plant and eliminate one work shift in the St. Louis North assembly.
Hearing the news of the Chrysler shutdown, Congressional Candidate Byron DeLear (D-MO2) expressed his dismay, “I am shocked to see a seemingly callous approach by many of our elected leaders to just stand by and watch our economy get hollowed out with the endless sell-offs, firings and buy-outs to the point of putting Americans in a state of economic trauma.”
These cuts will be felt beyond the expected job loss. Using the widely accepted economic multiplier of 7 supplier jobs for every assembly job, the Chrysler layoffs will affect 2,400 Chrysler workers and as many as 16,800 support related jobs. Schools, Police Departments, Fire Districts and other services will also have to cope with declining revenue and the reduction of services to our communities.
There is no question that our economy is struggling. Millions of jobs have already been lost due to NAFTA and other unfair “free trade” agreements. The Detroit Auto Industry continues to open new plants in Mexico and overseas, while our own good American manufacturing jobs stateside are being shut down and closed off. The unabated deterioration of our manufacturing sector is in no small part to the mismanaged economic policies of George Bush with support from legislators like Todd Akin (R-MO2). Rep. Akin voted for CAFTA and against the interests of his own constituents. As a matter of fact, Rep. Akin has continuously voted for these anti-American “free trade” agreements that continue to cost us jobs, weakening our economy and mortgaging our collective future.
“With the current path our trade policies have put our nation on, we will see more and more factory shut downs, more foreign takeovers of US industries like Anheuser-Busch, and more good jobs replaced with temporary employment without benefits”, said Glenn Kage, President of the UAW Community Action Program in Hazelwood, MO. “With the recession escalating and no significant action to change these trends, it kind of makes you wonder what it’ll take to wake people up.”
Trade can’t be “free” when American workers are expected to compete with foreign factories operating with questionable labor practices with no significant environmental standards. Mr. DeLear supports Fair Trade agreements to help keep our jobs here in Missouri and protect those hard fought for values, like 40 hour work weeks, safety in the work place, child labor laws and environmental standards.
“We need to stage a political intervention to defend and protect our American economy before it is too late,” said DeLear “A common-sense approach shows very clearly that for us as a national family to be successful partners in globalization, we first have to be responsible stewards to the health of our own economy here at home – it’s time to demand a true ‘Made in America Creates Jobs in America’ politic out of Washington, D.C.”
For more information please visit: http://www.DeLearForCongress.org
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