Breaking: Koch Industries' Outsourcing and Job Loss
In a recent television advertisement Koch Industries touted the growth of the company to create “60,000 American jobs.” The true story paints a picture of Koch Industries’ long history of job losses and outsourcing, resulting in nearly 3,000 American jobs sent overseas.
Outsourcing
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a federal job training program that provides assistance to workers who lose their jobs as a result of competing foreign imports or direct outsourcing. An analysis of TAA cases, news articles, shipping records, and layoff notices revealed examples of outsourcing at 13 Koch Industries facilities, and potential outsourcing at additional facilities.- In 2003, Koch laid off 150 employees at a KoSa plant in Shelby, North Carolina. In 2004, the Department of Labor certified that a portion of 150 employees who had been laid off at a plant in Shelby, NC, were eligible for TAA as a result of outsourcing to Mexico. Former employees at the Shelby facility later filed suit against Koch claiming that the company pushed workers to, according to a former worker, “leave gracefully” or “be victims of downsizing.” (Source)
- In 2004, Koch outsourced 175 jobs from an Invista plant to Mexico, less than a month after purchasing the plant. Koch Industries had promised to retain all employees. In late 2006 and early 2007 more workers jobs were outsourced to Mexico, as detailed by the US Court of International Trade. (Sources 1, 2, 3, 4)
- In 2004, some 35 workers were laid off at an Invista plant in Athens, Georgia. In 2006, they were certified eligible for TAA because of outsourcing to Mexico. In 2008, the plant laid off an additional, 50 employees. (Source)
A Thursday Morning Koch Hangover For GOP Senate Candidates
Yesterday morning, newly released audio recordings from a secretive Koch brothers summit earlier this year offered an even clearer window into just how cozy today's Republican candidates are with the Kochs and their powerful network. Speaking with rare candor, key Republican senate nominees thanked the billionaires for getting them to where they are today, lavished the entire Koch community with praise, and doubled down on their adherence to the Kochs' extreme, anti-working family agenda. Mitch McConnell, Joni Ernst, Cory Gardner, and Tom Cotton all gave speeches at Koch summit in June. Yesterday, they had less to say. But the coverage spoke for itself, and it wasn't pretty -- check out the brutal headlines and key passages below from Wednesday's reporting:
At Koch Retreat, Top GOP Senate Candidates Credited Koch Network For Their Rise Huffington Post // Sam Stein
None of the three candidates returned a request for comment for this article. But their attendance at the retreat offered both reward and risk. A few days after Ernst's appearance, Charles Koch, his wife, his son and his daughter-in-law each gave the Iowa candidate the legal maximum contribution of $2,600. Cotton, meanwhile, took heat for backing out of the local Pink Tomato Festival to attend the Koch affair, with his opponent, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), all but accusing him of lacking home-state sensibilities. A willingness to go against the prevailing winds at home has endeared Cotton to the Koch brothers' crowd, however.
Caught on Tape: What Mitch McConnell Complained About to a Roomful of Billionaires (Exclusive) The Nation // Lauren Windsor
To put that in perspective, Mitch McConnell’s thirty-five-year career in the Senate saw the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans, the 2008 housing meltdown that threatened the entire economy and Barack Obama’s election, to cite a conservative bête noire. But it was McCain-Feingold, the bill that banned soft money and unlimited donations to party committees, that constitutes the worst day of his political life.
Secret audio nails Mitch! Endangered McConnell busted humiliating himself on tape Salon // Joan Walsh
This year Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell chose to spend Father’s Day with two GOP political sugar daddies, Charles and David Koch, at their annual retreat, this time at the lovely St. Regis Monarch Bay resort in Orange County, California. As befit the day, McConnell brought the love: “I want to start by thanking you, Charles and David, for the important work you’re doing. I don’t know where we’d be without you.”
New Video — Joni Ernst: Trajectory
Newly released audio recordings from the Koch brothers' summit of billionaires and bought candidates this week reveals the extent to which candidates like Joni Ernst are inextricably tied to the oil lords and their anti-working families agenda. Ernst did not parse words in crediting the Kochs and their extensive network for getting her to where she is today. Now, the billionaire brothers are reaping the benefits of their investment, as Joni Ernst, the Republican nominee in a key senate race, sings the Koch gospel on issue after issue.
American Bridge Welcomes Scandal-Scarred, Self Interest-Serving Scott to the General Election
With primary season now in the rear view, Floridians have 10 weeks left to examine Rick Scott's record. That's bad news for Rick Scott, who you may recall isn't a big fan of being scrutinized. But then again, you wouldn't be either if you had his record. Scott was elected four years ago amidst a Tea Party wave, promising to carry out a Tea Party agenda, and delivering on that promise. But these days, Scott's trying to sell a different version of himself -- a version that is clearly undermined by his record -- and nobody is buying it.
Doug Ducey's Rocky Road To Defeat
Primary season has come to an end in Arizona, and former Cold Stone Creamery CEO Doug Ducey managed to hole up down the stretch and emerge as the Republican nominee for governor. The Tea Party favorite poured nearly $3 million into his own campaign and skipped a slew of debates en route to his unceremonious victory tonight. But the shady businessman can hide no longer -- and when the spotlight shines on his record, his political ambitions are bound to melt away. Ducey has touted endorsements from the likes of Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz, but was spurned by conservative Governor Jan Brewer, who opted to support a less extreme candidate to be her successor. Perhaps health care is at the root of their chasm -- Brewer worked to expand Medicaid in Arizona, calling it a "moral issue," while Ducey has decried the expansion as a "middle class entitlement." But Ducey's extremism is hardly limited to ensuring access to health care for his constituents. Ducey has close ties to the billionaire Koch brothers and their operatives, and unsurprisingly, he toes the Koch agenda line on nearly every issue. Ducey has opposed raising the minimum wage, expressed outrage that the poorest Americans aren't paying enough taxes, supported the claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, and the list goes on.
BREAKING: Devastating Revelations From New John Doe Docs For Scott Walker
A new batch of John Doe docs was released today in the ongoing investigation of Scott Walker's role in a…
Nobody Arraigning On Rick Perry's Koch-Parade
Rick Perry was due to appear in court in Texas today for the formal reading of his two felony charges after being…
FOX and Friend (Scott Brown)
This was Scott Brown just last week. Brown was utterly incredulous when it was suggested that FOX News would be any more favorable to his campaign just because he worked there. He pointed out that he was nothing more than a (very well paid) part-time employee. Coincidentally, FOX decided to do an apocalyptic special titled "Live Free Or Die: The Affordable Care Act in New Hampshire." This is the only special FOX has done focused on a single state all cycle. It offers a doomsday view of the new healthcare law in the Granite State, before entering savior Scott Brown in the final minutes to chronicle his heroic campaign to defeat Jeanne Shaheen and repeal the law. And FOX isn't the only outside help Scott Brown is getting in Mission: Tell Everyone ACA Will Destroy Their Lives -- the Koch Brothers' AFP has run false ads to attack Brown's opponent over health care too. But forget the skewed picture painted by FOX and AFP, and the nuanced politics of the Affordable Care Act for Scott Brown (only about one-third of voters support his repeal stance). This special, on the heels of Scott Brown's categorical dismissal of the notion that FOX would do anything to help his floundering campaign, is one more piece of evidence that you can't trust a word that comes out of this guy's mouth. Shocking, from a Massachusetts guy trying to convince the whole state of New Hampshire that he's one of them, right?
Rick Scott Pretends To Listen To Scientists (NEW VIDEO)
Ever since Rick Scott's buffoonery on climate change was thrust into the national spotlight -- and promptly ridiculed -- he's been desperately trying to rehabilitate his image on the subject. The other week, he even strung together an environmental tour in which he purported to be an environmentalist. Well the charade has continued. Yesterday, Rick Scott finally met with climate scientist and he listened with all the focus and alacrity of an eighth grader on the last day of school. His faux interest in climate change (paired with his steadfast rejection of its causes) didn't fool the scientists that met with him and it isn't fooling the voters.
Things Mitt Romney Could Talk To Bruce Rauner About While In Illinois
Mitt Romney will be in Chicago this afternoon as part of Paul Ryan's book tour, where the two can reminisce about that time they lost Illinois by 17 points en route to a landslide defeat two years ago. Perhaps while Mitt is in town, he should take some time to talk to his political doppleganger, Bruce Rauner. After all, the two would have SO much to talk about, like:
- The joys of shipping jobs overseas
- The age-old debate: Car elevators vs. $100,000 extra parking spots
- How annoying it is when the public demands to see your tax returns
- What a lovely place the Cayman Islands is for stashing millions to avoid paying US taxes