INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody, retired labor leader Chuck Jones and Indiana State AFL-CIO President Brett Voorhies today highlighted Congressman Rokita’s, Congressman Messer’s and Rep. Braun’s records of supporting disastrous trade deals that hurt Hoosier workers at a press conference in Indianapolis.

At the press conference, Zody, Jones and Voorhies called out all three GOP Senate candidates for routinely supporting unfair trade policies that rig the playing field against Hoosier workers and make it easier for corporations to ship jobs out of the U.S.

• Congressman Messer accepted $1,000 from United Technologies PAC after UTC subsidiary Carrier announced it would lay off Hoosier workers and send their jobs to Mexico. He’s also claimed that our biggest problem with China was that we don’t have a free trade agreement with them and tried to stop efforts to label the country as a currency manipulator. He also voted at least twice to block legislation that would stop tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.
• Congressman Rokitatook $3,000 from United Technologies PAC and then hung onto the money in the wake of UTC subsidiary Carrier’s decision to ship Hoosier jobs to Mexico. He repeatedly voted in favor of a massive new Asian trade deal, claiming it “paves the way” for even more unfair deals. He also failed to crack down on currency manipulation and voted at least twice to block legislation that would stop tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and to stop corporate inversions.
• During his time in the Statehouse, Rep. Braun voted against an amendment that penalized companies like Carrier who took tax breaks from the Indiana government to invest in Hoosier workers and then shipped jobs overseas. During the GOP Senate debate, he flip-flopped and claimed he didn’t know where the manufacturers for his company were from. An AP report stated that Rep. Braun frequently imports foreign parts from China for his auto parts distributing company.

“Congressmen Messer and Rokita and Rep. Braun have all made it easier for companies like Carrier to lay off our workers. Two of them even have kept money from United Technologies as they tried to ship our jobs to other countries,” said Chuck Jones, retired labor leader. “We know all three of these men have supported policies that rig the system against us and in favor of their donors, and none of them ought to represent Indiana in the Senate.”

“Congressman Messer’s, Congressman Rokita’s and Rep. Braun’s histories supporting terrible trade policies makes clear they don’t support our workers or deserve our votes,” said Brett Voorhies, President of the Indiana State AFL-CIO. “As someone who proudly represents more than 300,000 union workers in Indiana, we need senators who put the needs of Hoosier workers before companies who ship jobs overseas. We’re going to work for the next eight months to make sure we have a senator who’ll go to bat to protect good-paying manufacturing jobs right here in Indiana.”

“With less than two months until the Republican Senate primary, Hoosiers need to know that all three GOP candidates have consistently supported disastrous trade policies that encourage companies to ship Indiana jobs overseas,” said John Zody, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. “I’m glad to have champions for working Hoosiers here today to remind everyone that when it comes to trade, the GOP candidates and their mad policies aren’t looking out for working families.”

This press conference is part of Trade Madness, a three-week long series in which the IDP is highlighting Congressmen Messer’s and Rokita’s and Rep. Braun’s mad record of supporting disastrous trade deals and policies that make it easier to ship Hoosier jobs overseas.

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