Kerry pledges to keep more work in the U.S. by ending
taxpayer subsidies to corporations that move jobs offshore.

When it comes to the IAM’s most important issue, JOBS Worth Fighting For, the difference between Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush is stark.

John Kerry and vice- presidential candidate Senator John Edwards will fight to keep good jobs in the United States.

“I’m running for president because I want an economy that strengthens and expands the middle-class, not one that squeezes it,” declared Kerry. “America needs a president who fights for your job as hard as he fights for his own. And I will.”

And what about President Bush? His four years in office have elicited one attack after another on working families. Twice he opposed a federal extension of unemployment benefits.

His 2004 Economic Report declared: “When a good or service is produced at lower cost in another country, it makes sense to import it rather than produce it domestically.”

Bush’s Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called the National Education Association (NEA) a “terrorist organization.” The NEA is a teacher’s union! And Bush appointee James Loy declared that “collective bargaining conflicts with national security needs.”

President Bush is making sure the economy is working well for Wall Street. At one of his many fundraisers Bush looked out at the wealthy crowd and called them the “haves and the have mores.” He then added “some people call you the elite. I call you my base.”

Worried on Main St.
Meanwhile on Main Street, middle-class Americans are worried. An IAM-commissioned poll of blue-collar workers found that a majority of them are uncertain about the future and fear for their jobs.

They’re looking for a candidate who will connect with their concerns (for the complete poll, go to “Blue- Collar Vote Up for Grabs” at www.goiam.org).

John Kerry is listening. “More than a million Americans who were working three years ago have lost their jobs,” said Kerry. “They’ve watched their jobs and equipment unbolted before their eyes and shipped overseas. That’s wrong. Dead wrong. And I’m going to change it.

“They all deserve a president who fights for jobs in America instead of outsourcing jobs from America,” said Kerry.


At a “Jobs First” roundtable in Ohio, Kerry outlined steps to
rebuild America’s manufacturing base that will protect quality
U.S. jobs.

Restoring Jobs
Kerry promises swift action to change the course set by President Bush. “I plan to replace every job lost during the Bush economy in the first 500 days of my presidency,” pledged Kerry.

To do that, he would replace Bush’s failed tax cuts with investment incentives to rebuild America’s manufacturing base; he would bring back sound budget policies; put people back to work rebuilding America’s infrastructure; invest in new energy-saving technology made in the U.S. and slow down the skyrocketing cost of healthcare.

Tough on Trade
On trade, Kerry would end subsidies to corporations that move jobs offshore and replace them with tax incentives for companies to stay in the U.S. “I have a plan to put and keep good paying jobs at the heart of our economy. And when I’m president, American taxpayers will never again subsidize the loss of their own jobs,” said Kerry.

“John Kerry will fight for good jobs,” declared IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “That’s what American workers want and that’s what we want. Every one of the 90,000 IAM members laid off since President Bush took office deserves their job back. And everyone who is working shouldn’t have to worry about their job going overseas or losing their healthcare. John Kerry is the only candidate who will keep America’s middle-class strong.”


By investing in the U.S. economy, John Kerry will reverse the
steady job losses of the past four years.

Let America Be America
“Scripture tells us, ‘Where your treasure is, your heart will be also,’” said Kerry. “Let me tell you where my heart is: it’s with the middle class who are at the heart of this country, it’s with the working families who built this country, it’s with the veterans who saved this country, with the cops and firefighters and soldiers who protect this country, and it’s with the children who are the future of this country.

“That’s where my heart is, and, when I’m president, that’s where America’s treasure will be,” said Kerry. “Because this country really should be the land of opportunity for all, and special privilege for none. Let America be America again.”