Workers Are On Their Own To Defend American Jobs

[FreakinDJ]

Workers Are On Their Own To Defend American Jobs From Surging Chinese Imports; American Companies Are Conflicted Because They Now Produce In China

By Richard A. McCormack

The union representing American tire workers is flying solo in a one of the most important trade cases brought against China in the past decade. In its legal challenge to restrict Chinese tire imports, the United Steelworkers union did not have the backing of U.S. tire producers, almost all of whom are importing tires from China. The Chinese used the absence of any U.S. producer in the International Trade Commission (ITC) case as evidence that Chinese tire imports were not harming the U.S. industry.

While it is not unprecedented for workers to file a trade case without the backing of the companies with whom they are employed, it is rare. Without the American companies involved it raises a troublesome issue that has been festering in the American economy for the past nine years: The interests of American multinational corporations have diverged from the interests of American workers and communities.

Those representing Chinese producers and importers in the ITC “421” China safeguard case (Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From China, Inv. No. TA-421-7) said that the unwillingness of Goodyear, Michelin, Cooper, Continental, Goodrich and other American producers to join the workers in their petition (which they won) should have caused the Commission to question the validity of their claims. In his opening argument before the ITC on June 2, 2009, attorney Richie Thomas of the firm Squire Sanders, representing the Subcommittee of Tire Producers of the China Chamber of Commerce (and formerly a lawyer working at the ITC), said: “I will close by directing the Commission’s attention to the absence today of the very U.S. producers who are supposed to be experiencing injury from the accused imports. Their absence speaks volumes about the lack of merit of Petitioner’s case.”

Such an argument is not germane to the case, the Steelworkers responded. “They talk about the companies not participating when in fact that is not true,” says Terence Stewart of Stewart and Stewart, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm representing the Steelworkers. “It may be that management of companies did not participate, but workers are the bulk of the company and they are every bit a part of the company as management is.”

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/09/0630/421.html

In another thread folks were trying to discuss job creation

I just wanted to express it is "The American Worker" who must rise up and take his job back from these lop-sided BullCrap "Free Trade / Globalist" bastards that are Raiding the American Economy.

[glowing]

1. We got a really good deal on American made tires after having the chinese

one's that were sold to us repeatedly shred apart. Those tires are dangerous. They could have killed my family. So, who would I go back and sue for a bad tire imported and sold by an American tire supply store.. AND why is a tire that is so bad allowed into the US... The US has tire standards, what's China's standard.. Pay off a politician?

[Deja Q]

2. Not China per se...

But the corporations that offshore the work without any thought about repercussions...

I know investors are the only people corporations care about... Until the tires shred and the investors get killed in a bloody car wreck.

And right wing radio talk show hosts whine and bleat about people not having morals or saying how actions have repercussions. How about corporate personhood, eh rush and hannity? Once you lot start being objective and not blaming everything on who are ultimately your listeners (the hidden irony is all too obvious) you might be respected again...

Maybe corporations need greater responsibilities. If they are pro-life like the politicians who claim they are in every election cycle.

[FreakinDJ]

3. A shame not even Washington cares about the American worker

like the article says - "The American Worker is on his own"

[madrchsod]

4. been that way since the mid 70`s and then

reagan`s boys in the basement made it an official policy.
i`m not sure if we`ll become another argentina or england but i do know we`ll never be the america that i remember.

[Wednesdays]

5. K&R

:kick: