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brooklynite

(94,352 posts)
Wed Feb 2, 2022, 12:19 PM Feb 2022

'Building back worse': Wisconsin's fight over the production of USPS vehicles

The Guardian

Wisconsin residents cheered when Oshkosh Defense, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer, won a large contract to build a new generation of post office delivery vehicles - up to 165,000 – but now Wisconsinites are fuming about the company’s decision to produce those vehicles in South Carolina, rather than Wisconsin.

A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker unloads packages from his truck, New York, April 2020.
The fight to oust Louis DeJoy and his ‘disastrous’ austerity plan

Wisconsin’s political leaders and labor unions are stepping up pressure on Oshkosh Defense as well as the US Postal Service and White House to get the company to do that manufacturing to Wisconsin. The 10-year contract, which could exceed $10bn, is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. These leaders warn that unless the production is done in Wisconsin, Democratic candidates will be hurt in that pivotal swing state in this November’s elections as well as in 2024.

“We are extremely disappointed in Oshkosh Defense’s decision to accept the money from the US Postal Service and then turn around and send their production to a different state,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO union federation. “This is just another slap in the face to Wisconsin workers. People are very outraged about it. It doesn’t fit into president Biden’s vision to have high-road manufacturing.”
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'Building back worse': Wisconsin's fight over the production of USPS vehicles (Original Post) brooklynite Feb 2022 OP
I guess we may have been able to do something... TheRealNorth Feb 2022 #1
Would his replacement order Oshkosh to move production to Wisconsin? MichMan Feb 2022 #3
He could have insured the contract required that they use union labor. TheRealNorth Feb 2022 #4
Seems to be pretty old news --- from June, 2021 Klaralven Feb 2022 #2

TheRealNorth

(9,470 posts)
1. I guess we may have been able to do something...
Wed Feb 2, 2022, 01:08 PM
Feb 2022

If we had removed Louis DeJoy. Like a year ago.

Are we going to let DeJoy fuck up the mail system for the 2022 election, and then whine about how unfair it was? Or are we going to be proactive and do something about it?

 

Klaralven

(7,510 posts)
2. Seems to be pretty old news --- from June, 2021
Wed Feb 2, 2022, 01:26 PM
Feb 2022

Updated: 9:47 AM EDT June 22, 2021

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Spartanburg County will soon be the home of a new manufacturing site for Oshkosh Defense, a move that will create hundreds of new jobs.

The company that usually specializes is the design and creation of light- to heavy-duty protected vehicles and technologies will be investing $155 million and bringing 1,000 new jobs to manufacture zero-emission battery electric vehicles and fuel-efficient low-emission internal combustion engine vehicles to replace the existing fleet of vehicles for the US Postal Service (USPS).

https://www.wltx.com/article/money/business/oshkosh-defense-155-million-dollar-investment-to-bring-1000-new-jobs-to-spartanburg-southcarolina/101-5d6a4cdb-e443-432a-a356-c2dc6e781c63

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