Election 2016: Members Speak Out
Jennifer Wirrick
Local 9036
Jennifer Wirrick, 40, Saginaw, Mich., has been a Steelworker for 21 years and the president of USW Local 9036 for the last 12. She works for Saginaw Transit.
“My community was a good-paying auto jobs community. We had seven General Motors factories at one time. There were more than 8,000 workers. Now we have only one General Motors factory and another auto plant with about 2,000 employees.
“That is partially because of bad trade. And if the TPP gets pushed through, we will lose the two factories we have left. We want to keep those two factories with good jobs and pensions and benefits that support our community. We don’t want more low-paying jobs.
"Hillary Clinton has made a commitment to the state of Michigan. She will give us the help we need, the funds we need, at the federal level and the state level. We need a candidate for working people.
“A lot of things Trump says are offensive. As a woman of color, it is a double hit. It is a stab in the gut. He alienates communities on every issue. He tears us apart as a country on every issue. That is heartbreaking for me. We came very far as people of color, and now he comes and tears us apart all over again. All those years of work, and he comes and rips it all apart. I can’t imagine a president with that type of rhetoric.
“Black people took on the fight of all people of color. We feel that same pain. That is personal for us when he attacked Hispanics. That is a union value. As a Steelworker. no matter what color your skin is, not matter your industry, a hurt to one is a hurt to all. We protect each other.
“We are fighting for equal rights, human rights, worker rights. Human rights and workers' rights go hand in hand.”
