Bad Trade Deals Are Costing Thousands of Pennsylvania Workers Their Jobs

Hoffa Says Next President Must Focus on Jobs and Workers

PITTSBURGH, April 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bad trade deals have cost thousands of Pennsylvanians their jobs as more and more companies have moved their businesses out of the United States, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said Thursday.

"This current administration has turned its back on workers. We need a President who will make creating and keeping jobs in America a top priority," Hoffa said during meetings with workers in Pittsburgh. "Workers like you are the backbone of this country."

Hoffa's meeting with workers at a UPS Facility and at Giant Eagle were the final stops of the Teamsters' three-day "Working Class Convoy For Change." Trade figures were also released today, showing the deficit rose by a staggering 5.7 percent in February to $62.3 billion.

"Do we need any more evidence that these so-called trade deals are ruining our economy?" Hoffa said. "Wages are falling and the middle-class is shrinking because of trade deficits. Trade deficits are caused by bad trade deals. Why is that so hard for George Bush to understand?"

Nearly 3,000 people lost their jobs in Pennsylvania last month, more than any other state, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, 1,583 plants, offices and warehouses in Pennsylvania have been shuttered by companies.

Jobs, the economy and trade have been the focus of the Convoy For Change, but Hoffa has also spoken on other issues affecting America's working families, including how the policies of Sen. Barack Obama could greatly improve the lives of workers. The Teamsters have endorsed Obama, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

The convoy traveled through the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown areas, and included a news conference outside a Hershey Foods plant in Reading that will close in the next few months, costing hundreds of workers their jobs.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.