Appleton, Wis. – Outagamie County Executive and populist pro-labor candidate Tom Nelson on Friday called for the state-funded Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to withhold further tax credits from Oshkosh Corp. if it completes its move to South Carolina for production of a new line of U.S. Postal Service electric vehicles.
“Wisconsin taxpayers should not be subsidizing classic corporate union-busting,” Nelson wrote in a letter sent to WEDC today. “WEDC is charged with looking after our tax dollars and our workforce. If Oshkosh Corp. wants our largesse, it needs to stop its union-busting move to South Carolina. If they won’t listen to the language of economic and labor justice, make them hear the language they do: Money.”
The iconic Oshkosh Corp. has received millions of dollars from WEDC over the years, including subsidies to expand its headquarters. From 2015 to 2020, DYK Truck has received $55 million in tax credits, according to the Oshkosh Northwestern.
Nelson previously has supported the United Auto Workers challenge over the move to non-union workers in South Carolina.
A copy of the letter’s text appears below.
February 4, 2022
To: Melissa Hughes
Secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
From: Tom Nelson
Over the years, Oshkosh Corp. has received tens of millions of dollars from the taxpayers of Wisconsin to keep and retain thousands of Wisconsin jobs, both at the company and down the supply chain.
We’re proud of Oshkosh Corp. Its name rings throughout Wisconsin’s manufacturing history and bears the name of one of our great cities. But now, in a move being made plainly to bust its union and lower wages and benefits for workers, it is planning on moving one of its lines for the production of U.S. Postal Service electric vehicles to South Carolina.
Wisconsin taxpayers should not be subsidizing classic corporate union-busting. And that’s why I’m calling on WEDC to suspend tax credits to Oshkosh Corp., contingent on suspension of its move to South Carolina.
WEDC is charged with looking after our tax dollars and our workforce. If Oshkosh Corp. wants our largesse, it needs to stop its union-busting move to South Carolina. If they won’t listen to the language of economic and labor justice, make them hear the one language they do: Money.
Sincerely,
Tom Nelson
Outagamie County Executive
