Many lament job losses as auto work moves to Mexico
The auto industry takes a starring role in almost every conversation about
In many cases, jobs in the automotive industry were the kind of jobs that people could count on for life. Someone could come right out of high school, make decent money, get good benefits, put in 30 years, and be taken care of in retirement.
They were the kinds of jobs that could entice someone like
"It provided a great living for our family, and I knew a lot of other people who worked there. We moved from
MAP: Jobs lost to
PART I: To workers hit by factory closures, 'this
This story, and thousands like it across the country and especially in the industrial heartland of America, are center stage in this year's presidential campaign, with Republican candidate
The North American Free Trade Agreement was negotiated under President
In October, 2009, after 16 years,
The loss upended his life. He no longer had a solid middle class income. Thoughts of buying a house evaporated. He lost his health insurance, then he slipped on ice and injured his elbow, and ended up in the hospital. Some of the costs were forgiven, but it took years to pay off the medical debt.
"I was just devastated," he said. "There were a couple months where I had no idea where I was going to end up living. I couldn't find anything affordable. I was actually considering moving back in with my parents."
Even so,
He likes his job now, but he doesn't make what he did seven years ago when he was still at Honeywell. And he's still catching up.
If Honeywell had stayed,
"It just continued to expand the imports into our country and limit our exports. I would like to see
In 1990,
Last year, the state had about 686,000 men and women working in manufacturing. Many of those losses came from within the automotive sector.
Atlas Crankshaft, the very plant a young
"They actually put the machines on a truck and hauled them to
Not all went to
Between 2008 and 2010 alone -- at the start of the Great Recession --
Honeywell Autolite's spark plug factory dropped from more than 1,000 employees 16 years ago to fewer than 100 today because of outsourcing to
Growth in
Even so, the Mexican auto industry has experienced rapid growth since
"Since
Seventy percent of the cars made in
The company also announced that all small car production would go to
But economists say
"There's such a focus on labor costs as the one cost that drives everything in manufacturing,"
"I believe we'll be in for a spectacular recession," said
"The results would be truly catastrophic for the poor," the report said. "It would be the equivalent to an 11 percent flat tax on the after-tax income of
Even so,
"There should be some kind of tariff if you aren't competitive in wage standards, environmental standards, health and safety standards and everything else we deal with in the
"We can borrow at very low interest rates,"
There are still 8,200 people in
Other closings
But
Holly and Thomas Monroe were also among those 160 people at
"Right after, he went back to school and started
The Monroe family was in better shape than others affected by the factory closing,
"Our home was paid off and our cars were paid off so we were able to tighten the belt and keep rolling," she said.
Though
The agreement has been denounced by
Labor unions worry it will further erode
"The
According to
Despite an expanding unemployment rate,
Per capita GDP and per capita income rose faster in the region than in the state or nation in 2014 -- 4.3 percent and
"
"
Staff writer
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