On the recordMay 19, 2010
In response to the Chamber of Commerce's recently released report that claims U.S. free trade agreements have supported 5.4 million jobs, I have only one thing to say: Not in my district. Since January of 1994, employment in the manufacturing industry in Maine has declined by nearly 40 percent. Just ask the Mainers who used to work at Knight C-Low-Tex in Lisbon Falls or those that used to work at Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation in Lewiston. The Department of Labor recently certified them to receive trade adjustment assistance, proof that their jobs were lost as a result of our failed trade policies. Our U.S. trade policies might create jobs for big corporations based in Washington, D.C., but it takes them away from middle-class families in Maine.
