Labor & Employment Law

Bye, America

By admin

In this cross-post from the Alliance for American Manufacturing, Steve Capozzola highlights a fun and educational children’s book that shows why it’s important to buy American-made products.

Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Field Coordinator Rachel Bennett Steury has forwarded information on a new book that explains the importance of Keeping it Made in America:

“Bye, America”

Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 688 President Lance Biglin in Mansfield, Ohio, has taken a creative approach to help educate Americans on the importance of buying American. Biglin, together with his wife, has published a children’s book, “Bye, America” to help teach children, and in some cases their parents, why it is important to buy American-made products.

In his letter introducing the book Biglin writes, “This is the story of 4 million American families who have seen their jobs disappear over the last eight years.”

The story follows one worker who loses his job at a vacuum cleaner factory when his factory moves to China. The father takes his children to “Walrus Mart” to show them why it is important to buy American-made products. Sadly, every product they looked at was labeled “Made in China.”

“The United States has lost 3,500,000 jobs since the year 2000. Most of these were jobs that paid Americans a fair wage for a hard day’s work. When these jobs leave our country, there is very seldom an opportunity for a better job for these displaced workers. This book gives you a chance to sit down with the next generation of Americans and explain to them the importance of supporting their fellow countrymen. We are not losing these jobs because we are unproductive; we are losing these jobs because other countries are exploiting their workers, producing unsafe goods and just plain cheating,” concludes Biglin.

The book is beautifully illustrated by the author’s wife, Kristi Biglin. To order copies of the book, which is “proudly union printed in the U.S.A.,” click here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 25, 2009 (boomark / email).