Keep It Made in America Bus Tours Hit the Road in 11 States

Communities join ranks to demonstrate impact of 7.2 million U.S. auto-related jobs across America

Contacts:  Connie Mabin, USW, 412-562-2616, cmabin@usw.org
                Kathy Roeder, (202) 744-1037, kathy@blueenginemedia.com 

Washington, D.C. (May 7, 2009) –More than 7.2 million paychecks are dependent on U.S. autos, including health care, education, service, retail and other jobs. That’s the message workers, community leaders, elected officials, labor leaders, and others will bring to an 11-state, 32-cities “Keep it Made in America” bus tour the week of May 11.

Leo W. Gerard, USW international president, says, “This jobs crisis goes deeper than auto companies and assembly workers in Detroit.  Reducing U.S. auto manufacturing drives down overall employment, from the people who make auto catalogs and shipping boxes to workers making glass for windshields, rubber for tires and other materials.”

Workers from the bus tour, business leaders, national labor leaders, mayors, federal lawmakers and economists will join ranks again on May 19th at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a day-long ‘teach-in’ on the impact of the automotive supply chain in communities. 

Bus tour participants will include workers from steel, iron, glass, plastics and rubber, aluminum and auto parts facilities, local auto dealers, community employers, and local community and elected leaders.   The tour is sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), the Mayors and Municipalities Automotive Coalition (MMAC), and the United Steelworkers (USW).

Organizers cite President Obama’s comments at his April 30 press conference on his first 100 days as saying: “If you are considering buying a car, I hope it will be an American car.”  The “Keep it Made in America” tour supports the President’s call that recognizes the millions of jobs tied to the fate of the U.S. auto industry.

Auto parts suppliers drive economic growth in states all over the country.  Auto parts suppliers are either the top industrial employer, or among the top five industrial employers, in 19 U.S. states.  Among the states on the “Keep it Made in America” tour, auto parts suppliers are the top industrial employer in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri.  Auto parts suppliers are among the top five industrial employers in Illinois, Arkansas and Alabama.  

The USW president says, “Nationwide, if we cut American auto jobs to support auto imports, the consequences for service sector jobs will be severe.  The waitress at the neighborhood diner, the teacher at the community school, accountants, bankers, firefighters, and police officers will all likely see their jobs affected. We need to send a message to Congress and the Obama Administration that Americans recognize we must make things here. We don’t need more off-shoring. We need jobs – we need to rebuild domestic manufacturing and our auto industry.”
 
“You’ll notice that Shreveport is nowhere near Detroit, but making quality American vehicles and making parts for those vehicles has created terrific business opportunities in our community for other manufacturers, auto dealers, advertisers, radio and TV stations, and dozens of other local companies,” said Cedric B. Glover, Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana.  “These are the companies that form the tax base to pay for local services like schools, police, and fire departments, and they sponsor kids’ programs and contribute to local charities.  Our quality of life has benefitted from opportunities afforded by the U.S. auto industry.”

“We all have a stake in a strong domestic automobile industry.  That’s why we will put forward a plan to strengthen the automotive supply chain and get America back to work,” said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a labor-management partnership.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada employed in the industries of metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service sector. For more information: www.usw.org/.

May 11-May 14 Bus Tour Routes

(For more details in bus tour stops:  www.americanmanufacturing.org/.  A website with stories from the tour and teach-in, www.madeinamericatour.org, will premier on May 11.)

St. Louis, MO to Arlington, TX – St. Louis, MO, Cape Girardeau, MO, Humboldt, TN, Memphis, TN, Little Rock, AR, Texarkana, AR, Shreveport, LA, Longview, TX, Arlington, TX

Indianapolis, IN to Fairfield, AL – Indianapolis, IN, Shelbyville, IN, Louisville, KY, Owensboro, KY, Bowling Green, KY, Springfield, TN, Nashville, TN, Spring Hill, TN, Decatur, AL, Fairfield, AL

Merrillville, IN to Dayton, OH – Merrillville, IN, South Bend, IN, Logansport, IN, Kokomo, IN, Ft. Wayne, IN, Bowling Green, OH, Van Wert, OH, Dayton, OH

Dearborn, MI to Bay City, MI – Dearborn, MI, Hamtramck, MI, Sterling Heights, MI, Pontiac, MI, Wyoming, MI, Lansing, MI, Saginaw, MI, Bay City, MI

 
KEEP IT MADE IN AMERICA BUS TOUR:
AUTO-RELATED EMPLOYMENT IN 11 TOUR STATES

  
Sources: State Auto Jobs Data Sources: Level Field Institute; The Center for Automotive Research, 2007 Report; National Automobile Dealers Association, 2005 NADA Data, 2004 employment; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, State and County Employment (NAICS Code 3361 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing), 2004 employment.