Appleton, Wis. – Outagamie County Executive and pro-labor populist U.S. Senate candidate Tom Nelson released a radio ad this morning promoting the UAW Local 578 rally taking place at noon this Saturday, February 26th. The ad will run on WOSH radio station out of Oshkosh.
The union is fighting to keep the production of the U.S. Postal Service’s next generation of vehicles here in Wisconsin, as Oshkosh Corporation moves forward with plans to produce the vehicles for the $10 billion federal contract at a not-yet-finished facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
This is not the first time Nelson has shown support for the Oshkosh workers. Over this past weekend, he called out Spartanburg County Council Economic Development chair Brad Britt for attacking U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and defending Oshkosh Corporation’s decision to send 1,000 jobs to South Carolina.
“Hate to break it to you [Brad Britt], but your union-busting county will never match our excellence,” Nelson tweeted Sunday afternoon. “There is a reason it’s called Oshkosh Defense — not Spartanburg Defense. These are Wisconsin jobs and they belong in Wisconsin.”
By advertising for the UAW rally through his radio ad, Nelson decided to put his money where his mouth is, supporting these Wisconsin workers in their fight for good-paying jobs.
Sen. Ron Johnson added fire to the flames earlier this month when he said he wouldn’t fight for the Oshkosh jobs to remain in Wisconsin, saying, “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.” In response to this comment, Nelson put up a billboard near Johnson’s Oshkosh home.
The transcript for the ad appears below. Nelson also tweeted about the radio ad. The flier for the rally appears below as well.
TRANSCRIPT:
TOM: Hi, I’m Tom Nelson, candidate for the U.S. Senate, and I approve this message because we know how important it is to keep good paying jobs in our communities, and UAW Local 578 is trying to do just that with Oshkosh Corp’s contract for new postal service vehicles.
TOM: It is only right that they make the new fleet here in Wisconsin.
TOM: Join Local 578 and me on Saturday, February 26th at Noon outside Oshkosh Corp when we’ll rally to support Oshkosh workers.
TOM: Paid for by Nelson for Wisconsin, Scott Hubay Treasurer.
