[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           THE POST-NAFTA ERA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. (Mr. Abercrombie). Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur] is recognized for 60 
minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am often asked by constituents back in 
Ohio, when we address the House this late in the evening and there are 
not other Members peopling the floor, why we do this. Generally what I 
explain to them is it is about the only time during the day when we 
have a chance to put into the Record information that may not be a part 
of legislation currently on the floor. It is a quieter time of day, a 
time when we have a chance to think together, and so this evening I 
wanted to talk about some of the outcomes of a profound debate that 
occurred here in the Congress last year, in fact, the proposed then 
treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico known as NAFTA.
  During that debate the administration and the former administration 
as well and the treaty supporters argued that our country would accrue 
enormous jobs and economic benefits from the passage of NAFTA and the 
average American worker would be better off because of NAFTA.
  I rise tonight though, 6 months into the post NAFTA era, to help set 
the record straight and to state to those who supported NAFTA that they 
had better take another hard look.
  We intend to do this every quarter following the signing of that 
treaty. Already under NAFTA in just the first 3 months of this year, 
the United States has actually suffered a huge decline in our trade 
advantage with Mexico. The New York Times recently ran a front-page 
story on the subject. It was pointed out that America's previous trade 
advantage with Mexico prior to NAFTA has been cut in half. I repeat, 
cut in half.
  In fact, America's trade surplus with Mexico has been reduced by 
nearly 50 percent just during the first 3 months of this year. A slim 
margin of $560 millions all that is left of our much ballyhooed 
surplus. That means that more trade is coming in from Mexico to the 
United States, more imports into here, than our exports going down 
there.
  In fact, the little advantage that remained amounts to about $560 
million which, and how much is that, about as much as our army spends 
in an annual year on buying bullets. Yet that $560 million is all that 
keeps the United States from running a trade deficit with another one 
of America's trade competitors.
  If you look at the fourth month of this year, April, our trade 
surplus with Mexico, our advantage, fell to only $7 million in that 
month alone. What that means is that imports to our country from Mexico 
are now growing at a much faster rate than United States exports to 
Mexico. It means that more jobs are being created in Mexico than jobs 
being created here in the United States.
  Yet the administration and the former administration still attempt to 
claim that NAFTA has been good for our country. The U.S. Trade 
Ambassador was quoted in the New York Times as saying, ``NAFTA has 
increased trade substantially.'' I would say to Mr. Kantor, it has 
increased trade, but in what direction and for whose benefit?
  Across our country, NAFTA is hurting our people. As of June 6, 126 
petitions from different companies across this country, across 26 
States, have been received from workers in those companies whose jobs 
are moving to Mexico, whose companies are moving to Mexico. These 
petitions are filed with our U.S. Department of Labor under NAFTA's 
trade adjustment assistance for our workers who have been thrown out of 
work because of these corporate relocations, and they usually refer to 
this help for our workers as NAFTA TAA, NAFTA-Trade Adjustment 
Assistance.

  This program is our Government's attempt to give American workers 
some compensation for losing their jobs because of NAFTA.
  Now, when the administration tells us that NAFTA has benefited our 
country, I wonder if they have talked to the workers who are losing 
their jobs at companies like Emerson Electric in Logansport, IN, or the 
workers who worked at Simmons Furnishings in Redmond, WA. I hope some 
of those workers are listening, because someone here in Washington 
understands what you are up against, or at the Johnson Co. in 
Bennington, VT. How about the 8,000 workers in Martinsville, VA, who 
are losing their jobs because Sara Lee is moving its factories to 
Mexico? Or how about the workers in my own State of Ohio who worked at 
Walker Manufacturing Co. in Herbon, OH, and who used to build exhaust 
systems for automobiles? I wonder if this administration or the one 
that preceded it has figured out how to explain to these Americans how 
losing their jobs because of NAFTA is good for them and good for our 
country.
  Even though the number of these petitions from workers thrown out of 
jobs in our country gives some indication of the suffering that NAFTA 
is already causing our workers in just the first quarter of this year, 
the NAFTA compensation program for workers is but a weak measure of the 
damage.

                              {time}  2050

  For I have been told by numerous frustrated workers from around the 
country that either the various State unemployment offices have not 
made these petitions available in their State or they were not even 
aware that this NAFTA TAA worker compensation program even existed. 
That means that of the 100 companies that I am going to read into the 
Record tonight, probably dozens and probably hundreds more are being 
affected across our country who do not even know they can file in order 
to try to help the workers being thrown out of their job. In fact, the 
very program which is supposed to help the average United States 
workers who have lost their jobs to Mexico is in great need of 
assistance itself.
  Because, of this, there is really no way of knowing how many U.S. 
workers have already lost their jobs because of NAFTA.
  Further, lost contracts for field production in agricultural goods 
are not counted in the numbers. So, for all the tomato farmers out 
there losing acreage, for all the citrus farmers, for all the fruit 
farmers, for all the sugar growers, all of these production 
opportunities that are being moved to Mexico because of its cheap field 
labor system, there is no one keeping tabs on lost production in our 
country. The only people that really know are the farmers and the 
workers who are being thrown out of their jobs across this country. So 
the losses of income in agricultural America are a story that is not 
even being written. It was not on the front pages of any newspaper. If 
the administration does not have the time to get an accurate reading of 
how many U.S. workers have lost their jobs, it is becoming clearer who 
is benefiting from the passage of NAFTA. The big U.S. corporations who 
formed USA NAFTA, a business lobbying group and who also pushed the 
hardest for the passage of NAFTA, seem to be doing very nicely.

  These corporations who regularly sent parts and materials to Mexico 
to be assembled but then to return their finished goods back here all 
report substantial profits for their shareholders, not profits for the 
workers, and just as we cautioned, these United States corporations 
moved much of their operations across the border to parlay cheap 
Mexican wages into higher profits.
  Moreover, the country of Mexico is doing what we projected it to do: 
Increasing its imports to the United States at a much faster rate than 
our exports there. In the automobile sector alone, imports of motor 
vehicles from Mexico increased 48.3 percent to reach $728 million, 
nearly 50 percent. In the first 3 months of this year, Mexico shipped 
81,328 vehicles to the United States while we shipped only 5,848 south 
of the border. In other words, Mexico shipped approximately 15 times 
more vehicles to the United States than we did to them. Not a good deal 
for the American people, but a good deal for those who own stock in the 
multinationals.
  Mr. Speaker, what has been hollowing out is the middle class of our 
country and our people know it. Wages have not been going up, benefits 
have not been going up, so what is going on is the hollowing-out of 
production in manufacturing and agriculture in this Nation. NAFTA has 
been very good for some United States corporations and for Mexico, but 
in speaking of the good for our country, the post-NAFTA era has 
resulted in growing job losses and a worsening trade balance with 
Mexico.
  And for America, the post-NAFTA era has resulted in more growing job 
losses, losses that no one here in Washington seems to care about. 
Well, I care. For America, the post-NAFTA era has been the era of 
broken promises for prosperity for the many and profits for a few.
  Tonight, Mr. Speaker, I want to read into the Record the names of 
those companies and workers that have already been certified under this 
program:
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                    Washington, DC, June 17, 1994.
       Dear Colleague: Please find attached a list of U.S. 
     companies that have moved production to Mexico since January 
     and already applied for NAFTA Trade Adjustment Assistance for 
     their U.S. workers. The list contains 126 firms located in 29 
     States, with Pennsylvania, Washington and New York having had 
     the largest number of moves to date. It is only a partial 
     list though. The list does not include the farmers that have 
     been hurt by NAFTA. Furthermore, given the multiple problems 
     experienced in implementing the NAFTA-TAA program, many 
     workers and firms have been forced to turn to the Labor 
     Department's general Trade Adjustment Assistance program 
     without regard to the specific needs of the affected workers. 
     There really is no way of knowing how many U.S. workers have 
     lost their jobs because of NAFTA. I hope this list offers 
     some perspective to all of the spurious news accounts of 
     NAFTA's benefit to our country. The truth of the matter is 
     that many U.S. firms from around the United States have 
     packed up and gone to Mexico leaving thousands of U.S. 
     workers in their wake.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Marcy Kaptur,
                                               Member of Congress.

                         The Post-NAFTA Exodus


                           petition activity

       As of June 6, NAFTA-TAA petitions have been received for 
     workers in 126 firms located in 29 States. The distribution 
     of petitions by State is as follows:
       Alabama (2), Arizona (6), California (6), Delaware (1), 
     Florida (5), Georgia (5), Illinois (2), Indiana (4), Kentucky 
     (2), Maine (1), Massachusetts (6), Minnesota (1), Mississippi 
     (1), New Jersey (7), New York (10), North Carolina (4), North 
     Dakota (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (19), South 
     Carolina (3), Tennessee (7), Texas (7), Vermont (1), Virginia 
     (1), Washington (15), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (2), 
     Wyoming (1).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         NAFTA No.                      Firm                       Location                Decision and date    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00001......................  Swingster Co...............  Ocean Spring, MS..........  Denial (1/31/94).         
00002......................  Emerson Elec...............  Logansport, IN............  Cert (2/7/94).            
00003......................  Simmons Furn...............  Vancouver, WA.............  Cert (2/15/94).           
00006......................  Nintendo...................  Redmond, WA...............  Cert (2/3/94).            
00010......................  Steward....................  East Ridge, TN............  Cert (2/14/94).           
00013......................  Hubbell-Bell...............  Fogelsville, PA...........  Cert (2/23/94).           
00019......................  N.A. Philips...............  Fairmont, WV..............  Term (2/22/94).           
00005......................  ACA Lumber.................  Beaver, WA................  Denial (2/24/94).         
00007......................  Worzalla...................  Eatontown, NJ.............  Denial (2/24/94).         
00009......................  Uniroyal...................  Woodburn, IN..............  Denial (2/25/94).         
00004......................  Seattle Shake..............  Forks, WA.................  Cert (2/25/94).           
00020......................  No. Telecom................  Stone Mt. GA..............  Cert (2/25/94).           
00012......................  Stolle Co..................  Phonix, OR................  Denial (3/4/94).          
00021......................  Xerox Imaging..............  Peabody, MA...............  Cert (3/10/94).           
00014......................  Alcatel....................  Mt. Laurel, NJ............  Cert (3/11/94).           
00015......................  Parkway....................  South Amboy, NJ...........  Cert (3/11/94).           
00011......................  P&G Mfg. Co................  Quincy, MA................  Denial (3/11/94).         
00016......................  Metacomet Mfg..............  Fall River, MA............  Denial (3/14/94).         
00017......................  Hollywood..................  Forks, WA.................  Denial (3/14/94).         
00032......................  Niagara....................  Buffalo, NY...............  Cert (3/15/94).           
00018......................  Kemet/Phillips.............  Greenville, SC............  Cert (3/18/94).           
00023......................  Bonis Sport................  Tampa, FL.................  Denial (3/18/94).         
00025......................  D & R Cedar................  Forks, WA.................  Cert (3/18/94).           
00022......................  Clifton/Litton.............  Clifton Hts, PA...........  Denial (3/18/94).         
00024......................  Praxair, Inc...............  Tonawanda, NY.............  Cert (3/21/94).           
00050......................  Eaton Corp.................  Arden, NC.................  Cert (3/21/94).           
00028......................  McCreary Roof..............  Erie, PA..................  Denial (3/22/94).         
00029......................  Wundies....................  Williamsport, PA..........  Denial (3/23/94).         
00046......................  Sears Logist...............  Philadelphia, PA..........  Denial (3/23/94).         
00027......................  ACI/VVP Amer...............  Memphis, TN...............  Denial (3/24/94).         
00030......................  Dee Fashions...............  Centralia, PA.............  Cert (3/24/94).           
00026......................  Gandalf Sys................  Cherry Hill, NJ...........  Cert (3/25/94).           
00031......................  Bus Industries.............  Oriskany, NY..............  Denial (3/25/94).         
00033......................  Fisher-Price...............  East Aurora, NY...........  Denial (3/25/94).         
00034......................  Ferranti-Pack..............  Dunkirk, NY...............  Cert (3/28/94).           
00054......................  National Steel.............  Keewatin, MN..............  Denial (3/29/94).         
00056......................  Bristol Consol.............  Indianola, PA.............  Denial (3/29/94).         
00039......................  J.C. Penney................  Newark, DE................  Denial (3/30/94).         
00008......................  Allied Signal..............  Eatontown, NJ.............  Denial (3/31/94).         
00035......................  Armco......................  Bridgeville, PA...........  Denial (4/1/94).          
00036......................  Key Tronic.................  Cheney, WA................  Cert (4/5/94).            
00042......................  Samson Cordage.............  Anniston, AL..............  Cert (4/6/94).            
00055......................  N.D. Grocers...............  Bismark, ND...............  Denial (4/6/94).          
00037......................  True Temper................  Harrisburg, PA............  Cert (4/8/94).            
00038......................  Heater Wire................  El Paso, TX...............  Denial (4/8/94).          
00052......................  Creat. Ceramics............  Eagle Pass, TX............  Cert (4/8/94).            
00040......................  Peterson Shake.............  Amanda Park, WA...........  Cert (4/11/94).           
00041......................  Owens-Brockway.............  Huntington, WV............  Denial (4/14/94).         
00043......................  Cooper Ind.................  Cansonburg, PA............  Cert (4/14/94).           
00044......................  Gerber.....................  Reedsburg, WI.............  Denial (4/14/94).         
00048......................  Gould Elec.................  Newburgport, MA...........  Denial (4/14/94).         
00053......................  Simkins Ind................  Russell, MA...............  Cert (4/18/94).           
00066......................  Internat Paper.............  Presque Isle, ME..........  Denial (4/18/94).         
00047......................  Concurrent.................  Oceanport, NJ.............  Denial (4/19/94).         
00057......................  J.E. Morgan................  Wadesboro, NC.............  Denial (4/21/94).         
00049......................  Rowe Internatl.............  Whippany, NJ..............  Denial (4/22/94).         
00051......................  Valeo Climate..............  Fort Worth, TX............  Cert (4/22/94).           
00045......................  Johnson....................  Bennington, VT............  Cert (4/25/94).           
00058......................  Frigidaire.................  Athens, TN................  Cert (4/25/94).           
00068......................  Innotech, Inc..............  Roanoke, VA...............  Cert (4/26/94).           
00059......................  Boss Mfg...................  El Paso, TX...............  Cert (4/28/94).           
00060......................  B&B Garment................  Parsons, TN...............  Denial (4/28/94).         
00061......................  Wotco, Inc.................  Casper, WY................  Cert (5/2/94).            
00062......................  RELIANCE COMM..............  St. Stephen, SC...........  Cert (5/2/94).            
00073......................  Cargill, Inc...............  Buffalo, NY...............  Denial (5/3/94).          
00067......................  Stan. Products.............  Schenectady, NY...........  Cert (5/4/94).            
00074......................  Formglas, Inc..............  San Jose, CA..............  Cert (5/5/94).            
00063......................  USA........................  Conyers, GA...............  Cert (5/6/94).            
00071......................  USA........................  Bamberg, SC...............  Cert (5/6/94).            
00072-72A..................  USA........................  Spencer/Sparta, TN........  Cert (5/6/94).            
00064......................  Abbott & Co................  Manchester, TN............  Cert (5/6/94).            
00065......................  Layne & Bowler.............  Memphis, TN...............  Denial (5/6/94).          
00075......................  C & R Cedar................  Forks, WA.................  Cert (5/10/94).           
00076......................  TTX Company................  Tucson, AR................  Denial (5/10/94).         
00070......................  Quartet Fash...............  Bath, PA..................  Denial (5/12/94).         
00102......................  Quartet Fash...............  Nazareth, PA..............  Denial (5/12/94).         
00103......................  Quartet Fash...............  Nazareth, PA..............  Denial (5/12/94).         
00077......................  Data Products..............  Norcross, GA..............  Cert (5/18/94).           
00077A.....................  Staffing Res...............  Norcross, GA..............  Cert (5/18/94).           
00077B.....................  ATS Staffing...............  Norcross, GA..............  Cert (5/18/94).           
00077C.....................  Maristaff..................  Atlanta, GA...............  Cert (5/18/94).           
00080......................  Sunshine Rope..............  Miami, FL.................  Denial (5/18/94).         
00079......................  Swiss......................  Lake Havasu, AR...........  Denial (5/19/94).         
00078......................  Radform Tool...............  East McKeesport, PA.......  Denial (5/19/94).         
00092......................  Indal Limited..............  Indiana, PA...............  Denial (5/19/94).         
00109......................  Wilmington St..............  New Castle, PA............  Denial (5/19/94).         
00086......................  Pope & Talbot..............  Port Gamble, WA...........  Cert (5/23/94).           
00105......................  Fruit of Loom..............  Osceola, AR...............  Denial (5/24/94).         
00083......................  Miami Trim.................  Miami, FL.................  Term (5/25/94).           
00081......................  Allied Signal..............  El Paso, TX...............  Cert (5/26/94).           
00082......................  Otis Elevator..............  Tucson, AR................  Cert (5/27/94).           
00088......................  Andrea Mfg.................  Decatur, IL...............  Denial (5/27/94).         
00089......................  Lyons Falls................  Lyons Falls, NY...........  Denial (5/27/94).         
00106......................  Viskase Corp...............  Osceola, AR...............  Cert (5/27/94).           
00093......................  Mallinckrodt...............  New Athens, IL............  Cert (5/31/94).           
00069......................  Rudolph miles..............  El Paso, TX...............  Denial (6/1/94).          
00085......................  Beaver Dam.................  Beaver Dam, WI............  Denial (6/1/94).          
00090......................  Kraft......................  Avon, NY..................  Denial (6/1/94).          
00091......................  L. Grief...................  Shippensburg, PA..........  Cert (6/1/94).            
00099......................  Grief Com..................  Lehigh Valley, PA.........  Cert (6/1/94).            
00098......................  Waynesboro Ap..............  Waynesboro, GA............  Cert (6/1/94).            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                  NAFTA CASELOG                                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Petitioner (workers,                                                                     
    NAFTA petition         union, firm)            Location             State receipt         Affected articles 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00118................  Laurel Street Art     Hebron, KY..........                 05/20/94  Production of art   
                        Club Inc.; Art                                                       works for furniture
                        Works Division                                                       retailers.         
                        (Wkrs).                                                                                 
00119................  DeSoto, Inc. (Wkrs).  Stone Mountain, GA..                 05/24/94  Liquid soap for     
                                                                                             automatic          
                                                                                             dishwashers.       
00120................  Walker Manufacturing  Hebron, OH..........                 05/26/94  Exhaust systems;    
                        Co.; Newark Plant                                                    manufacturing of   
                        (UAW).                                                               welded assemblies  
                                                                                             including pipes,   
                                                                                             flanges, mufflers, 
                                                                                             and resonators.    
00121................  Kayser-Roth Corp.;    Greensboro, NC......                 05/31/94  Panty hose and      
                        No Nonsense Factory                                                  socks.             
                        Outlet, Inc. (Wkrs).                                                                    
00122................  Pacific Sound         Seattle, WA.........                 05/31/94  Pressure preserved  
                        Resources, Inc.;                                                     lumber, poles and  
                        Seattle and                                                          pilings.           
                        Bainbridge Island                                                                       
                        (AFL-CIO).                                                                              
00123................  Safeway, Inc.;        Oakland, CA.........                 05/31/94  Programming services
                        M.I.S. (Wkrs).                                                       (ie: HIS systems). 
00124................  S&H Fabricating and   Sanford, FL.........                 06/01/94  Air-conditioners for
                        Engineering, Inc.                                                    automobiles.       
                        (GMP).                                                                                  
00125................  Wells Lamont Corp.;   Carlton, OR.........                 05/24/94  Leather gloves.     
                        Portland Glove Co.                                                                      
                        (ACTWU).                                                                                
00126................  Zentek, Inc. (Co.)..  San Marcos, CA......                 05/27/94  Electric            
                                                                                             transformers       
                                                                                             manufacturing.     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          Sara Lee Cuts 8,000 Jobs--But Few, If Any, in Mexico

       Winston-Salem (AP).--In the battle of Martinsville vs. 
     Mexico, Martinsville lost. Few if, any, of the more than 
     8,000 jobs that Sara Lee plans to cut during the next several 
     months will be in Mexico.
       At domestic plants that knit fleece or sweat suit material 
     and hosiery, 490 jobs will be lost, said Nancy Young, a 
     personal products group spokeswoman in Winston-Salem. Two of 
     four factory shifts will be cut at a plant in Martinsville, 
     Va., and a plant in High Point will close.
       That means a greater share of Sara Lee's production 
     capacity for pantyhose and fleece production will be in 
     Mexico when the company's $495 million restructuring is 
     completed, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Thursday.
       But a Sara Lee official said there wasn't a choice between 
     Martinsville or Mexico.
       ``The Martinsville plant complemented one of our Mexican 
     plants'' and spokeswoman Anne McCarthy in Chicago. ``They 
     didn't compete.''
       On Tuesday, John Ward, senior vice president for Sara Lee's 
     Winston-Salem operation, said the company needs to shed 15 
     percent of its U.S. sweat shirt production and 5 percent of 
     its sheer hosiery.
       Sara Lee officials did not detail how much of the company's 
     fleece or hosiery production capacity is in Mexico, or how 
     many employees the company has there.
       Union officials representing Sara Lee workers in California 
     estimate that Sara Lee pays between $4 and $6 a day in 
     Mexico. Minimum wage in the United States is $4.25 an hour
       Sara Lee's choice of job cuts and closings is not related 
     to wage rates, McCarthy said.
       Young said Sara Lee officials decided to cut 290 American 
     workers from the payroll in Martinsville because of the 
     Virginia knitting plant's advanced age and higher operating 
     costs. Sara Lee has no plans to add knitting capacity in 
     Mexico, she said.
       Sara Lee has no sock plants in Mexico such as the 350-
     worker Adams-Millis plant in Kernersville that will close. 
     And Young said the company has no plans to open sock 
     factories in Mexico.
       Sara Lee has not filed a petition with North Carolina's 
     Employment Security Commission that would help laid-off 
     workers qualify for the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, 
     a federal program to help workers displaced by foreign 
     competition after NAFTA. The program provides retraining 
     funds.
       ESC spokesman David Sherrill said he does not know whether 
     Sara Lee workers will qualify.

                          ____________________