Carrier Worker:Trump stood on stage & lied about 1,100 jobs being saved at Carrier in Indianapolis

[kpete]

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana—Dragging on a cigarette as he sits in the hall of United Steelworkers Local 1999, Robert James says, “Trump stood on stage and lied about 1,100 jobs being saved at Carrier in Indianapolis.”

James, 57, is the local vice president and a forklift driver who’s worked for 18 years at the Indiana-based factory that manufactures furnaces for homes. In February 2016 Carrier told more than 2,000 workers at two factories in the Hoosier State they were going to be fired and production would shift to Monterrey, Mexico. After a video of the workers being fired went viral, Trump made Carrier a poster-child of offshoring during the presidential campaign. Following his victory, Trump turned the screws on Carrier to keep jobs in the United States.

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Jones was more pointed, telling the media the president-elect “lied his ass off” about the jobs saved. That earned him Trump’s wrath, leading to threats pouring in such as, “You better keep your eye on your kids” and “We’re coming for you.” Jones says, “It really pissed me off he misled people their jobs might be saved. He didn’t want to get up and tell people part of the plant is going to stay and part of the plant is going to Mexico.”

One of the cards sent to Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, after Trump attacked him. Jones had told the media Trump “lied his ass off” for saying more than 1,100 jobs would be saved at the Carrier plant in Indianapolis when the actual total was 730. Another 550 workers are being fired.

At the Local 1999 hall, wolfing down a cheeseburger and fries for lunch as he conducts media interviews, Jones says he is “grateful for the 730 jobs Trump did save.” But he points out this was a one-off deal. Jones says because Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, does $6.7 billion in federal business, mainly for the Pentagon, “Trump had a helluva bargaining chip with the military contracts.”


Jones and others attribute the move to “corporate greed.” He says, “It’s all about money. Carrier is a very profitable company. Because they can pay the Mexican workers $3 an hour to enhance their profitability, they will do it.” UT earned $7.6 billion in 2015, has squirreled away $29 billion offshore, and is buying back $16 billion in stock to boost its share price.

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http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/more-than-1600-factory-workers-are-being-fired-after-trump-said-hed-save-their-jobs-heres-what-they-have-to-say/

[Thrill]

1. And of course no media attention

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