Appleton, Wis. – Outagamie County Executive and pro-labor populist U.S. Senate candidate Tom Nelson condemned Ron Johnson for abandoning Wisconsin workers by saying he would not lift a finger to help workers in his own backyard in Oshkosh. In response to Oshkosh Corp. building new USPS vehicles in South Carolina using non-union labor, Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “It’s not like we don’t have enough jobs here in Wisconsin. The biggest problem we have in Wisconsin right now is employers not being able to find enough workers.”
Nelson responded, “It’s beyond disgraceful that multimillionaire Ron Johnson says he won’t lift a finger to help create 1,000 good paying, family-supporting jobs right in his own backyard of Oshkosh. I’m putting up this billboard today outside Ron Johnson’s Oshkosh lakefront home to remind folks here in the Fox Valley that our Senior Senator is only out to serve himself, not us.”
Nelson has previously noted that Oshkosh Corp had received over $55 million in tax credits and sent a letter to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to ask if those credits could be suspended if they refused to hire local workers.
Nelson has been the pro-worker candidate leading on this issue as noted by Wisconsin press.
WBAY-TV interviewed Nelson after he had met with local United Auto Workers union regarding the USPS contract:
“They knew when they got this contract everyone was expecting, everyone was expecting that these vehicles would be built in Oshkosh, and now they’re not doing it anymore. Shame on Oshkosh Truck for doing that, what they did to Oshkosh and what they’re doing to the workers. It’s wrong,” said Nelson.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Nelson’s “dumbfounded response:”
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Saturday he won’t try to persuade a Wisconsin manufacturer to place more than 1,000 new jobs in his hometown.
When told of Johnson’s remarks, Democratic candidate and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson was dumbfounded, declaring that the added jobs — and money — would help the wider community. “He wants a third term and he just doesn’t understand economic development,” Nelson said. “It’s mind blowing, breathtaking.”
WUWM-Radio quoted Nelson on the need for a U.S. Senator who prioritizes Wisconsin manufacturing:
“This is a big problem, and we need to have a U.S. senator who recognizes this problem and knows how important it is to have good manufacturing jobs because this is how Wisconsinites have put food on their table, a roof over their heads. Once again, Ron Johnson has completely checked out. If we can’t expect him to stand up for jobs in his own hometown, we can’t expect him to stand up for anyone,” Nelson told WUWM.
Read the entire WBAY story here.
Read the entire Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here.
Read the entire WUWM story here.
