Chuck Schumer Talks Tough on American Jobs While Sending them to China
Senator Charles Schumer went on a public relations offensive yesterday, stepping before the microphones to declare that “To me, nothing is more important than jobs.” Standing in front of American factory workers at a “New York based company that sees its sales and supply chains undercut by Chinese imports,” he gestured back toward them and declared “We’ll pit any of these guys against five Chinese workers, but we can’t compete if in addition to that they throw on a 30% advantage.”
Schumer continued, “Our message to the Chinese is simple: you start playing by the rules, or we’ll make you play by the rules…. The number one issue for the people of New York is jobs and bringing back our economy. Getting the Chinese government to play by the rules of our economic system would be a huge step forward towards securing our economy and the manufacturing jobs of New Yorkers. It’s vital that we get this done.”
The rules of our American economic system involve environmental protections in production, protection for workers from poisoning, laws against child labor and slave labor, and a minimum wage to ensure that someone who works all day long in a factory can afford to feed, clothe and house him- or her-self.
China does not play by these rules. It does not ensure environmental protection in or around its factories. Its workers get sick and die when they’re exposed to toxins. It is plagued by child and forced labor, particularly in its footwear industry. It pays its workers a pittance and abuses them in many ways.
S. 730, the “Affordable Footwear Act,” makes it harder for American jobs in shoe production to be preserved against Chinese imports. Despite the fact that China does not “play by the rules,” as Chuck Schumer acknowledged yesterday, S. 730 would if passed remove all import duties for Chinese-made footwear.
Chuck Schumer is a supporter of S. 730. He is the bill’s cosponsor.
Don’t watch what your Senator says in front of the mike. Watch what he does when the mike’s turned off.
