Plain Talk A Plea for Action COLUMN BY ROB BUKSAR Sadly, far too many of us react adversely when presented with thinking that’s con- trary to what one wants to believe, even though the facts are irrefutable. As the Titanic was heading to the bottom of the North Atlantic there were many who refused to accept the sinking because they thought it was unsinkable. Oops! I’m submitting a couple short articles I ran across in other publications. Material like this is showing up all over, yet people refuse to acknowledge it. Why? Because the ideas these folks present tend to be unthinkable, if in fact you want to believe everything is peachy keen. Just listen to what Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union has to say: “If doing (an aerospace) deal with China creates jobs, well tell me where those jobs are created. Show me where those jobs exist. They can’t do it. I know this for a fact. Every time Boeing does a deal with China, I lose hundreds more members in Seattle or Wichita. They may create 3,000 more jobs, but those jobs are in China. If I lose 300 people in Seattle, it probably is because 3,000 jobs were created in China. Put a face, put a name, put a city, put a locale, put a factory name on those jobs. Show me where the jobs are created. We have never seen one piece of evidence of a job being created any time we do a deal with China or Russia or anyplace else in the world.” (Reprinted with permission from Manufacturing News, 12/02/02.) If that’s not enough to open your eyes, how about this letter which ran in the January 5 issue of the Gary Post Tribune: “How sad is the situation of America today. We boast about all that is good, but tend to sweep the bad under the rug. “What is happening in the steel industry should never happen to anyone. “People who do not know better think the government taking over the steelworkers’ pensions is a great thing. Tell that to the men and women who were just a few months or years from drawing a 30-year pension who now have to wait until age 62 to 65, regardless of the years they gave to their employer. “The pension money they have so willingly trusted to the company for years, to insure their futures, has been robbed by mismanagement and exces- sive spending. When the true problems at Bethlehem Steel surfaced, some of the important key “upper” employees wanted to bail out. “The company’s solution was to offer them millions of dollars to stay. Money well spent? “T’m not saying we should turn our backs on the problems in other countries. But if something isn’t done soon, will we have anything worth fighting for? New companies go bankrupt every day, companies we never thought would have financial problems. Some of it might be because of 9/11, but I think a lot of times that excuse is used excessively. “The government has to do some- thing about exporting America’s jobs. We are going to have to start moving to foreign countries to work in American-owed-businesses. How long can we survive importing foreign goods and exporting American jobs? “We never thought my husband would possibly be faced with finding a decent job at age 45. Don’t think it can’t happen to you and what’s going on doesn’t affect you. When taxes go up and public services are cut to make up for the tax dollars lost from the companies filing bankruptcy, you’ll feel it. When no one is buying new homes or cars, you’ll feel it. When your employer has to lay you off because of a lacking economy, you’ll feel it. “Wake up, America. There’s more out here past your door.” I live in the trenches myself. I inti- mately know how concerned most of you are trying to keep your heads above water. It hurts to even think about fighting on another front. Yet I know most of you are as unsettled as I am about the condition of our industry. Given the time and opportunity I know most of you would like to express your extraordinary displeasure with the way we’re getting screwed via the current trade agreements with the Third World, especially China. It’s high time we inform our elected officials that we’re mad as hell. The current trade agreements are literally killing us and the government needs to know that we know. Providing enough of us lend our sup- port, the ERE is going to make a real effort to bring our plight to Washington, D.C. On page 5 is a preprinted state- ment outlining our concerns. You sim- ply need to read it, sign it, and forward it to the Exchange office via fax or first class mail. The ERE will compile all the forms and forward them on to the appropriate parties. Friends, we have nothing to lose. I truly hope you’ll support this effort. May God bless the small American businessman. Rob Buksar is owner of Hoosier Electric Co., Gary, Ind.