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“TRADE AND JOBS HEARING IN BROOK PARK, OHIO” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7518-H7520 on Sept. 26, 2017.
The Department provides billions in unemployment insurance, which peaked around 2011 though spending had declined before the pandemic. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, claimed the Department funds "ineffective and duplicative services" and overregulates the workplace.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRADE AND JOBS HEARING IN BROOK PARK, OHIO
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, during the August recess, I organized a district field hearing to hear firsthand accounts from America's workers, my constituents, on NAFTA's disastrous job impacts. These voices must be heard and listened to as our Nation renegotiates NAFTA. These real stories are the people who live the impacts of Washington's agreements.
I thank the Local United Auto Workers Chapter 1250 for graciously hosting us, a region that lost over 14,500 jobs after NAFTA's passage to Mexico and to Latin America.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the testimony of Amy Hanauer of Policy Matters Ohio, Donnie Blatt of the United Steelworkers, and Mark Payne of the United Auto Workers.
Amy Hanauer, Policy Matters Ohio
Representative Kaptur and others, thank you for the opportunity to testify today alongside these strong community leaders. I'm Amy Hanauer and I run Policy Matters Ohio, a policy research institute dedicated to creating a more vibrant equitable, sustainable, and inclusive Ohio. Find us online at www.policymattersohio.org.
Trade and jobs in Ohio: Key principles to improve outcomes for workers
NAFTA and other trade agreements have eliminated jobs in Ohio and the United States. Manufacturing remains an essential part of Ohio's economy, despite its downturn. Smart policy can strengthen Ohio manufacturing while making our economy greener and stronger Some key recommendations include:
Invest in infrastructure, particularly clean energy
Invest in solar panels and wind turbines
Structure these projects carefully, prioritizing good jobs and diverse workers
Support American manufacturing through proven programs
Support manufacturing extension programs
Buy American when spending public dollars
Support smart worker training
Improve trade agreements
Increase worker protections
Improve environmental standards
Eliminate special courts
As we have long documented at Policy Matter, the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade agreements have not accomplished what they were supposed to in Ohio. Our current trade rules favor multi-national corporations and their investor over workers and citizens. As a result, these policies have reduced the quantity and quality of domestic jobs, thereby exacerbating wealth inequality. Many multinational corporations that once employed people here have instead located in places with lower wages, fewer environmental regulations, and weaker labor regulations. NAFTTA rules made that shift easier.
One reason these deals have been so destructive is that they transfer power away from citizens and to international investors. They bar nations, states, and cities from enacting labor and environmental policies that protect the public. They block local governments from using policy to boost demand for domestic products, such as local sourcing.
NAFTA was promoted as being broadly helpful to Americans and our trading partners. But the economist Susan Helper recently testified that NAFTA slowed wage growth in U.S. industries and regions. This hurt not just manufacturing workers, but also service employees, as displaced manufacturing workers sought jobs in restaurants and retail and as laid-off workers had less to spend in the economy. In Mexico as well, wages stayed mostly flat even though productivity increased. Mexican manufacturing wages remain well under 20% of U.S. manufacturing wages.
The Economic Policy Institute found that NAFTA cost the U.S. 683,000 jobs from 1994 to 2010. Manufacturing, as a sector, lost the most, 60.8 percent. Geographically, Midwest states like Ohio took the hardest hit. NAFTA also displaced Mexican small farmers and business owners, and did not raise wages relative the U.S. Despite that, the treaty became a model for the World Trade Organization, China trade normalization, and other deals As a result of all of these, economist Jeff Faux estimates an additional net loss of 2.7 million U.S. jobs and economist Josh Bivens found that the typical American with just high school degree loses $1,800 a year.
Manufacturing has declined, but remains an essential part of Ohio's economy. One in eight Ohio employees works in manufacturing. We had 687,000 manufacturing workers in 2015: only California and Texas have more. Average wages of $1,119 a week were 24.9 percent higher than in other sectors. Ohio manufacturers contributed $108 billion to the economy in 2015, 17.8 percent of the total for the state. So that sector is responsible for one in every six dollars and one in every eight jobs in Ohio. The typical worker with a high school diploma and no college earns $2.99 more per hour in manufacturing.
While the sector has generally lost employment over the past several decades and in the most recent recession, some signs point to a partial recovery. Good policy, including trade policy, can make this more likely. There are clear things we can do to improve policy so that workers and the environment on all sides of the border are better protected.
At Policy Matters, we recommend three large policy priorities to address these issues:
Invest in infrastructure, especially energy: America's infrastructure is crumbling around us and we are completely underinvested in infrastructure that would reduce energy use and address other environmental problems. We should get to work now, upgrading, maintain, and building infrastructure that would strengthen our communities and make our planet more sustainable, and we should make sure that American products are used throughout these projects. To name a few priorities:
We should install solar panels on every public building in the United States, buying from American companies and having unionized tradespeople do the installation. Right here in Cleveland there are entrepreneurs selling solar panels and they argue that even here in snowy Cleveland, many residential solar installations now pay for themselves in less than a decade and commercial systems will pay for themselve in less than six years. Representative Kaptur is a longtime champion of this approach, and Toledo, with its extensive glass-making history, has a strong supply chain that could play a key role in this work.
We should be installing wind turbines wherever appropriate, using Ohio's substantial supply chain to produce component parts for these turbines. Here in Cleveland, we continue to want to see the Lake Erie Economic Development Company project build the first fresh water wind farm in the country on Lake Erie. We got some great news just this week that this project cleared another hurdle and is moving forward--but movement has been much slower than needed because public policy at the federal and state level just down no incentivize this kind of job-creating energy-generating investment.
These projects should be structured carefully. There are sound principles at the website millionsofjobs.org that I encourage you to look at, but some of the elements we support include supporting direct public investment, not tax giveaways for corporate subsidies and making sure that these projects are union-built, have inclusive workforces that represent the diversity of the communities in which they're being done, and have worker and environmental protections. SA mentioned, all of these projects should pay decent wages, should source from U.S. made products, and should prioritize the needs of disadvantaged communities--both urban and rural. Finally, these projects should be paid for through fair, progressive taxes so that the wealthiest Americans and giant corporations who reap the greatest economic benefit from public goods pay their fair share.
Support American manufacturing through proven programs:
Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs) help manufacturers work together to solve problems and find solutions to assist their sector. They assist with research and development, commercialization, joint marketing and branding, worker training, identifying new technology, share investments like makerspaces, and reshoring. The federal government should deepen investments in MEPs. Instead President Trump's budget proposal threatens to entirely eliminate this modest but successful program. Similarly, the manufacturing innovation institutes that have been so successful, including one in Youngstown, face 70% cuts in the Trump budget.
Buy American: We should Buy America provisions for all public spending at all levels of government. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown have both voiced support for these important provisions and I would urge you to join in that support. The Trump Administration should apply Buy America to all federally-funded infrastructure projects. President Trump's intent in this area is not entirely clear and we should encourage him to make good on promise he has made to support American products. While Buy America rules apply to some federal infrastructure programs, many taxpayer-funded projects still lack rules requiring the use of American-made projects. Brown's proposed legislation would ensure Buy America rules apply to all federally-assisted projects.
Invest in worker training: The Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act, WIOA, trains and educates workers, focusing on career pathways and apprenticeships. By incorporating a strong understanding of the labor market, WIOA is transforming the workforce system for those who face significant barriers to employment. The act pushes the public sector to better serve low-skilled, low-income adults so they can achieve not just self-sufficiency, but real economic mobility. Ohio trains have been working hard to take advantage of these new approaches. For Ohio workers who face barriers to employment and tough job markets, it's essential that we all deliver. Yet, this program too is on the chopping block under the Trump Administration. The Trump budget calls for cuts of approximately $1 billion from the WIOA program. The cuts represent about a 40 percent reduction from current funding levels and would have devastating impacts on states and local communities seeking to address the kill needs of businesses and jobseekers. Instead of cutting WIOA, we should be enhancing it.
Improve trade agreements. This encompasses three primary provisions.
Increase worker protections. NAFTA has reduced bargaining power for workers in both the U.S. and Mexico. Workers and their representatives have little ability to object to sweatshop conditions or labor law violations. At most they can call for consultations that have no enforcement mechanisms. Investors have much more power to object and much stronger mechanisms to do so. Worker representatives from all countries in an agreement should be brought in to propose standards. I encourage this committee to consul the AFL-CIO
(2017) and the Roosevelt Institute (Tucker, 2017) about how best to remedy this in renegotiation.
Improve environmental protection. Environmental protections in NAFTA are relegated to side agreements with no enforcement provisions. This is why we've seen more use of polluting fossil fuels, less protection of greenspace and forests, and more deeply problematic mining since NAFTA. Other testimony today provides more detail on how best to address environmental concerns, but minimally, those who breathe the air, drink the water, and suffer from global warming should have as much power as multination corporations to raise their issues. (350.org et. Al, 2017)
Eliminate special courts for investors. NAFTA established special courts where firms can challenge government policies that affect their investments. These ``investor-state dispute settlement'' (ISDS) mechanisms undermine democracy and national sovereignty. This system should be eliminated so that citizens again have the ability to advocate for the laws they think will best protect their communities.
In sum, there is much that federal policy can do to create fair trade, to promote American manufacturing, and to improve job quality and availability. We decide the kind of economy we want to have and we can choose one that does more for our families, communities, and planet. We appreciate your interest in exploring and further those policies.
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Donnie Blatt, Assistant to the Director, United Steelworkers--District
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I would like to thank the sponsors for holding this event, UAW Local 1250 and its officers and of course our great Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. Congresswoman Kaptur has been a great public servant for many years and has been a great friend to the United Steelworkers, not only in her Congressional District but all over Ohio and our Nation. I want to thank her personally for her role in the re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). The United Steelworkers have been involved in the trade debate since NAFTA was incepted in 1994 and we are happy for include our voice going forward to again try to make trade competitive and fair for all workers, not just in the United States, but for the workers of our trading partners as well.
As an International Union that represents workers in a wide range of sectors, not just steel but aluminum, tire and rubber, glass, paper, auto parts, fabrication, public sector and many more. We have a wide range of knowledge on trade and how trade affects not only the U.S. workers, but also the communities where they live. The biggest problem with NAFTA and similar trade agreements is that it allowed for multi-national corporations to shift jobs wherever workers can be exploited and environmental regulations are the weakest. Even with the promises of great economic growth for all the U.S. Labor Department certified nearly 1 million manufacturing jobs has been lost just with the NAFTA agreement alone.
With NAFTA and other NAFTA-style trade policies such as Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China (PNTR), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), the United States has closed roughly 60,000 manufacturing facilities here at home. To put things into perspective, this represents 3 times the number of people that live here in Brook Park, OH. If you would go around Brook Park today, every man you would see would be equal to 3 manufacturing facilities closed, for every woman you would see would be equal to 3 manufacturing facilities closed and for every child you would see would be equal to 3 manufacturing facilities closed. The 60,000 closed facilities equates to around 5 million lost manufacturing jobs. This number represents the entire population of the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota combined. It's not just about manufacturing jobs, the U.S. has also experienced job loss in the sectors of computer programming, call centers, engineering and service sector jobs as well and many other employment sectors. In Ohio alone, since NAFTA, we have lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs which is more than every man woman and child that lives in the city of Cincinnati.
Along with the jobs that are lost directly in manufacturing, there are effects to the local community. First, because manufacturing jobs typically pay more than other jobs in the area, when they are lost there is a natural downward pressure that is put on wages and benefits to remaining jobs in the immediate area. Secondly, the combination of the lost manufacturing jobs and the downward pressure on the remaining jobs means less money for the community tax base, which affects the schools, police and fire departments, roads and bridges and other public services. This means the public sector workers are left struggling to maintain a decent standard of living for their families. Donald Trump has been right to highlight NAFTA and the impact it has had on our trade deficit. Yet his administration has failed to propose the bold changes needed to properly replace NAFTA, reduce our trade deficit, and create more manufacturing jobs that would raise wages for workers at home and abroad, as was promised.
There are conditions needed in future trade agreements that the Trump Administration has not committed to, to make trade fair and a level playing field. First, we a strong and enforceable labor and environmental standard that will not only lift wages and protect jobs here at home, but will lift working conditions abroad. So far the Trump Administration only seeks to use the weak and unenforceable standards from previous agreements. Second, we ned to end investor state protections that make it easier for multi-national corporations to shift jobs overseas and end investor state dispute settlements that allow corporations to sue the United States taxpayers because of a law that may protect its citizens yet may increase corporate production costs. Third, we need stronger rules of origin laws and close the back door that allows parts made in China and Vietnam and assembled in the United States and labeled made in the USA in order to get tariff relief protection. Tariff deduction should not be granted unless the majority of the product is made here at home. Lastly, we need to end the NAFTA ban on ``Buy America'' so tax dollars can be used as much as possible to create jobs that local communities desperately need. The White House plan to renegotiate NAFTA is vague on these four points. If the NAFTA renegotiations process is going to benefit American workers we have to hold the White House more accountable for these promised changes and more.
Finally, the NAFTA renegotiations cannot be done behind closed doors with corporate advisors dictating the terms of the Agreement. This creates too many conflicts of interests. They must be transparent and exposed to public scrutiny. The United Steelworkers stand ready to lend their voice and resources to ensure these points are part of any NAFTA renegotiations. Thank You Congressman Kaptur for your work and your consideration.
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NAFTA Hearing, Mark Payne
I am here to talk about manufacturing in Cleveland and the effect NAFTA has had on our Site. At one time our Site had over 14,000 workers. Our Aluminum Plant phased out 2005 and the equipment was loaded up and sent to Cifunza, Mexico.
Our Casting Plant phased out in 2010 and its work was sent to Mexico and Tupy, Brazil. Engine Plant 2 Phased out in 2012 and is now sitting idle. This Plant won the Shingo Award for best quality!
What is the common denominator here? Bad Trade Agreements!!!!
We battled against the EPA Restrictions in the Casting Plant. We fought against low wages from other countries.
How do you compete against poverty wages? Against lax EPA standards from other countries? Against a lack of investment in America?
Across from our Union Hall once stood our Casting Plant, it is now just an open field . . . Was it dirty work, yes, but it was our work!!!
Our workers know the effects of a bad Trade Agreement!
But, we did not have a Level Playing field!
Trade Agreements seeks to drive down our wages in a race to the bottom. The current Mexican auto worker wage has even fallen under NAFTA, from $3.95 an hour to $2.93 an hour.
With fair competition we have proven that we will excel in the global marketplace. But we must have a living wage for a fair day of work. We must invest in America.
The problem is our Trade agreements ``perception'' of progress, without making any. The problem is our trade agreements reward Companies that take work out of America.
Are the Trade agreements unlocking the opportunities for America or are we just widening the lane for our jobs to leave America?
Trades Agreements has cost Ohio over 323,000 manufacturing jobs. Under NAFTA the trade imbalance in the auto sector has grown from $3.5 billon in 1993 to $45.1 billion in 2016.
Ford will say that they were only following their ``Way Forward'' Strategy. For Cleveland NAFTA has been a job killing strategy.
No one can tell me that low wages mixed with lax EPA standards was not a part of Ford's ``Way Forward'' decision to relocate our work.
Nothing stings worse than having your jobs moved to another country produce the product you used to make, and have that same product brought back into this Country for us to buy.
In Cleveland, we are slowly coming back, we produce the 3.5 and 3.7 V-6 Ecoboost engines and we were able to accomplish a
``reverse NAFTA', bring work from Spain to Cleveland when we launched a new 4 cyl engine. We are also slated to produce the engine from the New Ranger/Bronco vehicles coming out in 2019.
Work coming back to Cleveland is like Lebron James coming back to the Cavs. They should have never left! Ohio is a great place for work to come to . . . no social unrest, just hard working men and women from a blue collar town, building quality engines.
In closing, I want to thank Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur for fighting the good fight and for supporting good paying jobs in America once again. Congresswoman, Spread our message! The UAW has your back!
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, they directly know the negative impacts of NAFTA. Amy stressed the changing nature of manufacturing in Ohio, making up one of eight jobs. Donnie discussed how Ohio has lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs as well as the imperative for a new NAFTA transparent agreement. Mark Payne spoke about the need for a continental living wage and investment in American job growth. All three emphasized a deal that works for jobs here in America, America's workers, and Buy American provisions.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and the administration to take heed of their testimony. We need to create jobs here in America and across this continent that are living wage jobs.
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