An injury to one is an injury to all

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http://www.ilwu.org/political/warrior/04/vol5no3.cfm

ILWU WARRIOR

AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL

SUPPLEMENTAL WASHINGTON REPORT

LINDSAY MCLAUGHLIN, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
BRIAN DAVIDSON, LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT

VOLUME 5, NUMBER 3
June 2, 2004

ILWU TALKING POINTS
OUTSOURCING AMERICAN JOBS

President Bush reported to Congress that the movement of American factory jobs and white collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation. President Bush’s chief economic advisor, N. Gregory Mankiw testified before Congress and supported the President’s position that shifting jobs overseas is a good for America. He said, “Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade. More things are tradable than were tradable in the past. And that’s a good thing.”

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union strongly disagrees. We in fact find it appalling that the President supports the dislocation of American workers in favor of cheaper labor overseas. ILWU members want to load containers full of products made by American workers. ILWU members have fought to keep technology jobs for American workers rather than being shipped overseas. The outsourcing of American jobs is a travesty, not an economic benefit as President Bush believes. Below are some facts that the Bush Administration thinks is “a good thing”:

Close to 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since President Bush took office.

Goldman Sachs estimates that 400,000 – 600,000 professional services jobs moved overseas in the past few years.

The pro-outsourcing firm Global Insight estimates that 104,000 information technology jobs were lost to offshore outsourcing between the years 2000 and 2003. The Economic Policy Institute found that US software occupations lost 154,000 jobs between 2000 and 2003 and jobs in software producing industries fell by 128,000 through 2004.

States are outsourcing public sector jobs as well. A recent study by INPUT Research projects that outsourcing of state and local government technology contracts will grow from $10 billion last year to $23 billion in 2008.

After two decades of devastation of the U.S. manufacturing sector and the permanent loss of millions of high-wage, good benefit, middle-class jobs, America is now threatened with a similar hollowing out of its service sector. Among the millions of service jobs threatened, now high paying, professional and technical career opportunities are also at serious risk due to the growing off-shoring trend. These losses are already contributing significantly to the current jobs crisis and further decline of the middle class, even as the Bush Administration endorses the exodus of so many American jobs as a “good thing,” as the administration stated in a report by the Council of Economic Advisors signed by the president.