Carrier Union Leader on Trump’s Jobs Claim: “I Almost Threw Up in My Mouth”
(COMMON DREAMS) Andrea Germanos, December 7, 2016 — President-elect Donald Trump’s smoke-and-mirrors speech last week to Carrier employees had their union leader “almost throwing up in his mouth.”
As consumer advocate Ralph Nader wrote, “Trump made Carrier, a subsidiary of giant United Technology, his poster-child for showing how the U.S. is losing jobs under NAFTA.”
Trump boasted last week that he reached a deal with United Technologies that would keep over 1,100 jobs at the Indianapolis plant and not be moved to Mexico. But T.J. Bray, a Carrier worker and communications representative for United Steelworkers 1999, which represents the workers, said to Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR on Monday, “We found out today that more jobs are leaving than what we originally thought.”
“It seemed like since Thursday, it was 1,100 then it was maybe 900, and then now we’re at 700. So I’m hoping it doesn’t go any lower than that,” Bray said. In fact, as workers found out, 730 factory jobs and 70 supervisor positions will be saved.
Speaking at the Indianapolis Carrier plant Thursday, Trump told employees, “I will tell you that United Technologies and Carrier stepped it up and now they’re keeping—actually the number’s over 1,100 people, which is so great.”
Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers 1999, told the Washington Post he had hoped Trump would offer an explanation when he came to speak at the plant. “But he got up there and, for whatever reason, lied his a– off.”
“Trump and [Vice President-elect and Indiana Gov. Mike] Pence, they pulled a dog and pony show on the numbers,” Jones said. “I almost threw up in my mouth,” he added.