Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Offshoring Continues to Cost Wisconsin Among the Most Jobs in the Country

Just days before President Barack Obama is expected to promote his Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement as a job creation effort during the 2013 State of the Union Address, a Wisconsin fair trade advocacy coalition has released a new analysis of U.S. Labor Department data showing that Wisconsin lost the 13th most jobs to offshoring out of any state in the country in 2012 and the 5th most by population.

"The data shows that trade agreements continue bleeding jobs out of Wisconsin communities," said David Newby, President of the Wisconsin Fair Trade Coalition and past President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  "This new Asia-Pacific trade deal would only accelerate offshoring in Wisconisn and across the nation."

The newly compiled data released today by the Wisconisn Fair Trade Coalition shows that the Labor Department certified 2,777 Wisconsin jobs as destroyed by either direct offshoring or displacement by imports in 2012, bringing the total number of trade-displaced jobs certified by the Labor Department since 1994 up to 73,537, which is the fifth highest in the nation when measured by population. 

The U.S. Labor Department individually certifies workplace layoffs as being trade-related in order to qualify displaced workers for the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.  The coalition argues that this data set necessarily undercounts the true number of Wisconisn jobs that have been offshored, first, because it requires people to proactively apply for certification and, second, because people in service sector jobs that have been offshored, such as those in call centers or computer programming, have typically been disqualified by law from inclusion in the program. 

Wisconsin workplaces certified as having trade-related layoffs in 2012 include: AT&T Services (Waukesha), Albany International (Menasha), Anthem Insurance Companies (Platteville), Argus Technical Services (Oshkosh), Badger Meter (Milwaukee), Cardinal ST Company (Mazomanie), Criticare Systems (Waukesha), Dana Holding Corporation (Milwaukee), Datex Ohmeda (Madison), Doherty Staffing Solutions (Eau Claire), Envelope Product Group (Kenosha), European Touch (Milwaukee), Express Employment Professionals (Eau Claire), Gardner Denver (Sheboygan), Georgia-Pacific (Green Bay), Hutchinson Technology (Eau Claire), Joerns Healthcare (Stevens Point), Johnson Controls (Hudson), Lamico (Oshkosh), Maysteel (Allenton), Peer Technical Group (Two Rivers), Per Mar Security (Two Rivers), RBC Manufacturing (Grafton), River Flats Testing (Appleton), SNC Manufacturing (Oshkosh), Sanmina-SCI (Turtle Lake), Schlei Dray Line (Manitowoc), Supervalu (Pleasant Prarie), Teksystems (Milwaukee), Thermo Electron (Madison), Thermo Fischer Scientific (Two Rivers), Trostel (Whitewater), Wausau Paper (Brokaw), WellPoint (Waukesha) and Wells Manufacturing (Fond du Lac).

“Far too many of Wisconsin’s families have already suffered through having their livelihoods shipped overseas under misguided policies like NAFTA and Chinese trade preferences,” said Michael Bolton, District 2 Director of the United Steel Workers.  “President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership would offshore even more local jobs by forcing local employers to compete with those that exploit sweatshop working conditions in countries like Vietnam and Malaysia.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is currently under negotiation between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.  Among those countries alone, it would become the largest Free Trade Agreement in U.S. history, but it is also being specifically negotiated as a “docking agreement” that would be open for any country to join. 

“Despite having completed fifteen major rounds of TPP negotiations over a period of several years, U.S. negotiators refuse to tell the American public what they’ve been proposing in our names, while granting hundreds of corporate lobbyists access to the negotiating texts,” said Newby.  “This sort of back-room deal-making will not turn out well for working Wisconsinites, and must be opposed.”

Labor Unions, Community Come Together to Help Workers at Echo Lake Foods

Three hundred workers were displaced from their job on January 30 when an eight-alarm fire overtook the Echo Lake Foods processing plant in Burlington, Wisconsin.  This tragedy for Wisconsin workers has brought community and labor unions together to help assist workers who are currently out of work. 

The Racine County Workforce Development Center, in partnership with the state Department of Workforce Development Center, is offering informational briefings to the Echo Lake Foods workforce Wednesday.  In attendance at the briefings are representatives from the Racine Area Labor Council, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the United Auto Workers Local 180, the Communications Workers of America, and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 321. 

“Affiliates of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO have joined together with the community to lend a helping hand and provide assistance to displaced Echo Lake Foods workers during their time of need,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. 

“During difficult times it’s important for workers to support workers whether they are members of a union or not, because we are all one community of working people,” said Dale Seianas, Vice-President of the Racine Labor Council and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1473.  “The UFCW represents grocery store workers and food workers across Wisconsin and we know how difficult it is when someone has to go without a paycheck. That is why we are offering our assistance anyway we can in this dark hour.” 

Unions are offering translation services for Spanish speaking workers and offering to help  connect workers with community dislocated worker programs. 

In 2009, a fire broke out at the Patrick Cudahy plant and labor unions pulled together to help UFCW members during their time of need.  Unions are taking that experience and building upon it to answer questions and offer assistance to Echo Lake Food workers. 

Legislators Step up to Strengthen BadgerCare

The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO joins a growing coalition of faith, labor, health care advocates, the Wisconsin Hospital Association and elected leaders in support of expanding BadgerCare with federal funds made available through the Affordable Care Act. 

Gov. Walker has not yet to make a decision on accepting the funding to expand Medicaid coverage. His decision will affect over 146,000 Wisconsinites. 

At a press conference Tuesday at the Capitol, Senator Jon Erpenbach and Representative Jon Richards joined with uninsured Wisconsinites from across the state to introduce the ‘Strengthen BadgerCare Act.’  This act would expand BadgerCare coverage to better meet the needs of 146,000 Wisconsinites who lack affordable health care and are denied access to BadgerCare. 

“We hope that our elected leaders put the health of Wisconsin residents first and pass the Strengthen BadgerCare Act,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “Many of the people who fall through the cracks of BadgerCare are unemployed or low-wage workers who are still struggling in this economy through no fault of their own.  When people can go to the doctor and get their families proper care when they fall ill, we all benefit as a society both economically and morally.” 

“Filling in the holes of BadgerCare makes sense for Wisconsin,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “The Affordable Care Act provides federal funds to cover the cost of expanding the program and it is estimated that 10,000 new health care jobs will be generated by the influx of this funding.  More people with health care and more jobs is a win-win for Wisconsin.” 

Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid would be expanded to include people with household incomes below 138% of the federal poverty threshold - $15,414 for an individual this year - who are not eligible for coverage now.

In Wisconsin, this group mainly consists of adults who don't have children under 19.

The federal government would pay the full cost of expanding the Medicaid program through 2016, gradually declining to 90% in 2020 and thereafter.

Take the Money

Gov. Walker has a big decision to make and hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites’ health is on the line.  The Affordable Care Act gives states several opportunities to expand health care coverage for uninsured citizens.  One way is by providing federal funding for states to expand Medicaid, known as BadgerCare in Wisconsin, to cover currently ineligible low-wage workers at zero cost for the first three years.   Gov. Walker’s decision whether or not to accept the federal funding for the BadgerCare expansion will affect more than 100,000 people in Wisconsin, nearly all of them unemployed or working part time.

Accepting the federal Medicaid money will also create jobs. According to an independent analysis by Jack Norman commissioned by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, the $12 billion in federal money for BadgerCare will create an estimated 10,000 new jobs in the health care industry.

BadgerCare currently works well for low-income parents and caretakers of children, but most low-income people without children or whose children have grown fall through the cracks. There are over 146,000 Wisconsinites on a growing waiting list for health care. 

A recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that if Wisconsin takes the new Medicaid money, in 10 years an additional 211,000 Wisconsinites will be enrolled in BadgerCare. The federal government would pay the full cost of expanding the Medicaid program through 2016.  After 2016, the federal government will gradually reduce its share of the cost to 90% in 2020 and thereafter.

People who lack access to stable and affordable health care coverage do not have a fair shot at the American dream because they face a constant threat of having their careers devastated by health disasters that turn into financial disasters.  As union members, we need to stand up for our brothers and sisters who are unemployed or working part-time so that we can have a stronger, healthier, more stable middle class. 

More people with access to health care and more jobs -- this is a good deal and Gov. Walker should take the money.