WASHINGTON, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Senator Barack Obama
just walked away from another fight for American jobs," declared R. Thomas
Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAM). "This is becoming his trademark. But never before has
he done so on this scale, with 44,000 American jobs at stake."
At a town meeting in Wilkes Barre, PA, this week, Senator Obama suggested the
Air Force's decision on the tanker deal was justified if it turns out the
Airbus bid was 10-15 percent better than Boeing's.
"He just doesn't get it," said Buffenbarger. "Airbus has been subsidized by
the French government, the British government, even the German and Spanish
governments.
"For Senator Obama to equivocate on this issue is a complete embarrassment.
But for him to equate our efforts to protect 44,000 jobs and national security
with drawing 'a moat around America' just shows he's no friend of blue collar
workers.
"Maybe Senator Obama doesn't 'mind the Pentagon procuring from other
countries' but I sure as hell do. What is at stake is America's manufacturing
sector. What's at stake is over $40 billion in American taxpayer dollars."
The IAM represents nearly 720,000 members including 35,000 Boeing employees at
locations across the country. For more information, visit www.goiam.org.
SOURCE International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Rick Sloan, IAMAW, 301-967-4520, 202-297-2941 (cell), rsloan@iamaw.org
(email)
