The union today supported Gina Raimondo for U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
USW International President Tom Conway wrote to the U.S. Senate, "As a union, which has participated in over 100 trade enforcement cases over the last 20 years, we know that timely and efficient efforts by the Commerce Department are vital to ensuring American workers do not lose their job to illegal trade practices."
Here is the full text of the letter, which can be downloaded for printing here:
Via Email
U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Senator:
January 26, 2021
On behalf of the members of the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW), I write to support the confirmation of Gina Raimondo for the Secretary of Commerce.
Secretary nominee Raimondo will have a vital role ensuring economic growth as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Her experience and working-class family heritage will be vital for an agency that is supposed to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity.
The impact of the Commerce Department cannot be understated for a union that has been significantly trade impacted. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law. As a union, which has participated in over 100 trade enforcement cases over the last 20 years, we know that timely and efficient efforts by the Commerce Department are vital to ensuring American workers do not lose their job to illegal trade practices.
During her confirmation hearing nominee Raimondo indicated that as Secretary she would “invest in innovation and technology in our manufacturing sector and take aggressive trade enforcement actions to combat unfair trade practices from China and other nations that undercut American manufacturing”. We look forward to working with her as she endeavors to grow our economy and ensure workers share in this economic renewal.
The union urges you to promptly vote to confirm Gina Raimondo as the 45th Secretary of Commerce. Workers everywhere stand ready to promote economic growth and create high-paying jobs in the U.S. and we look forward to working with nominee Raimondo.
Sincerely,
Thomas Conway International President