Wisconsin: "Chosen one" Mary Burke faces criticism over Dept of Labor findings
State Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate has all but handed the gubernatorial slot to Trek Bicycle mogul Mary Burke. Burke has already been heavily criticized by progressives for her stands on the Geobic mine and voucher schools, among other issues. Now she's feeling more heat as the US Department of Labor reports that her offshoring of Trek jobs cost Wisconsin citizens their jobs.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/some-democrats-dismayed-with-burke-after-trek-ruling-b99144457z1-232399351.html
But now Burke is coming under criticism from some within her own party following a decision last week by the U.S. Department of Labor. The federal agency found that up to 20 former Trek Bicycle employees are eligible for special federal aid via the Trade Adjustment Assistance program because they lost their jobs due to foreign trade.
Specifically, the decision said "the increased reliance on imports contributed importantly to the worker group separations and sales/production declines at Trek Bicycle Corporation."
...
Some labor officials and liberal activists have been slow to throw their support behind Burke who is aiming to take on Republican Gov. Scott Walker because Trek is a nonunion company that has moved much of its production to China.
They pounced on the decision finding Trek guilty of trade-related layoffs, noting a similar U.S. Department of Labor decision was used against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. "That's a tough pill to swallow for Democrats that spent last year bashing Romney for sending jobs to China," said a liberal activist. "Totally ridiculous I'm ashamed to have Burke as our only candidate."