McCain’s Votes in Washington Helped Ship U.S. Jobs Overseas

by James Parks, Sep 18, 2008

When a Corning Glass plant shut down in Pennsylvania in 2004, hundreds of members of the United Steelworkers were laid off—only to be called back to disassemble the plant and ship the equipment to China.

A new TV campaign ad by the Barack Obama team makes the connection between the Corning plant shutdown and the policies of  John McCain. As the ad narrator states:

Washington sold [the workers] out with the help of people like John McCain. He supported tax breaks for companies that shipped jobs overseas and voted against cracking down on China for unfair trade practices.

We can’t afford more of the same.

McCain voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement and has backed other bad trade deals. He also supports a trade deal with Colombia. McCain voted to allow China to enter the World Trade Organization, despite its history of workers’ rights violations. McCain voted against a bill to tax multinational companies on income from foreign factories when goods are shipped back to the United States and to require companies to notify employees and give a reason before they move their jobs overseas. Essentially, he voted to reward companies that ship jobs overseas with a tax haven. 

Obama not only opposed the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, if elected, he will insist on enforceable labor standards in future trade pacts. Obama also has called for expanding aid to workers displaced by trade and investing in industries that create new, good jobs.

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