While Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is fighting to make sure that the next generation of USPS vehicles are made in Wisconsin, by Wisconsin-based manufacturer Oshkosh Defense, Ron Johnson said over the weekend that he “wouldn’t insert [him]self” to protect and secure the 1,000 Wisconsin jobs because “it’s not like we don’t have enough jobs here in Wisconsin.”
Oshkosh Defense — which is based in and named for Johnson’s adopted hometown — has tentatively announced plans to instead produce the vehicles in South Carolina; a move that Johnson is apparently reluctant to challenge, even if it stands to hurt Oshkosh and Wisconsin workers.
It’s a bizarre political strategy to — in an election year — admit that he won’t fight for Wisconsin jobs and workers. But that kind of rhetoric isn’t new for Johnson. He’s praised outsourcing that hurts Wisconsin workers, arguing that it’s better to have goods produced “dirt cheap” overseas.
Watch Johnson’s full comments here.
Read more:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “’It’s not like we don’t have enough jobs here in Wisconsin’: Ron Johnson won’t try to land Oshkosh Corp. postal vehicle work”
Associated Press: Wisconsin’s Johnson not fighting to get South Carolina jobs
WBAY-TV: Wisconsin’s Sen. Johnson not fighting to get Oshkosh Corp’s South Carolina jobs
