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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats and Machinists Union International President Robert Martinez Jr. held a press conference at the U.S. Capitol with Machinists Union members facing plant closures and layoffs after the broken promises of the #GOPTaxScam.
“Workers across the nation are paying the price for the Republicans’ tax scam dishonesty. The GOP tax scam actually rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas,” said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. “We need to fix this Republican raw deal with a Better Deal. A Better Deal for workers and their families, create jobs and invest in American manufacturing, give our workers the tools to succeed and, in doing so, also provide safety in the workplace as well and put economic power back in the hands of hard-working men and women.”
“These companies are taking tax breaks with one hand and handing out pink slips with the other,” said Machinists Union President Robert Martinez, Jr. “I’m going to call it like I see it. This is a corporate ambush on working people.”
Watch: IAM International President speaks out against corporate tax bill
“Our lives have been turned upside down,” said Jerome Frederick, 39-year Electrolux employee and IAM Local 623 member in Saint Cloud, MN. “Soon after, we went into effects bargaining with the company to determine our severance package and work out the details of the plant closing. This is not what we had in mind when Congress passed this so-called tax bill. Electrolux is using our tax dollars to slash our good jobs.”
“This is putting 250 employees, including myself, out of work,” said James Lewis, a 30-year Dresser-Rand (Siemens) employee and IAM Local 1580 member in Wellsville, NY. “But the effects go far beyond us. It is estimated that $20 million annually will be taken out of Wellsville now that we are losing these good jobs.”
“So here I am… 21 years of service… 58 years old and I’m kicked to the curb… me and 799 others at the Kansas City Harley-Davidson plant,” said Rick Pence, a 21-year Harley-Davidson employee and IAM Local 176 member in Kansas City, MO. “We are starting over. Our president speaks of Making America Great Again. But I’m not feeling so great right now. My company just got a multimillion-dollar tax cut, and has now decided to make a multimillion-dollar investment overseas.”
Watch the entire press conference.
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