The Economic Policy Institute just released a new study that reveals the
number of jobs lost due to our trade deficit with China. China joined
the World Treaty Organization in 2001, and since that time, US trade
deficit with that country has soared.  Now, 40% of our non-oil imports
from less developed nations are from China alone.

According to the study, the results of our trade deficit with China has
impacted “essentially all production workers with less than a four-year
college degree—roughly 70% of the private-sector workforce, or about 100
million workers.”  

Iowa ’s share of job loss, 20,900, is equal to 1.37 % of all jobs in the
state, with the 2nd Congressional District hardest hit (5,200 jobs lost
or 1.67%). This is nothing compared to the 2.23% (369,500 jobs) of all
jobs lost in the State of California – Iowa ranks 35th hardest hit state
in the country – but it is part of the same trend across our country in
which more people are competing for fewer jobs.

Other Key Findings, Since 2001:

    * U.S.-China trade deficits increased by $186 billion or 221%.
    * 2,418,800 American jobs have been displaced
    * 66.93% of  American manufacturing jobs have disappeared

On Saturday, March 27, the White House recess appointed Craig Becker and Mark Gaston Pearce to fill two vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) see article on Blog for Iowa February 8, 2010.

The two are among fifteen recess appointments President Obama made on Saturday out of the 77 nominations that remain stalled due to Senate Republican filibusters on Obama nominees.

President Obama nominated Becker and Pearce a year ago, and both come with laudable resumes. Yale-educated, Becker served with AFL-CIO and SEIU as Associate General Counsel. He has taught at the University of Chicago, Georgetown, and UCLA and has argued cases before the US Supreme Court.  

Pearce, too has been a union lawyer since 1979, but has been most active recently in reviewing wage and hour violations for New York State Department of Labor.  Wage and hour violations had been rampant in that State targeting mostly minorities and women.

Their combined experience will finally give workers a voice in the NLRB after a decade-long culture of pro-business interests heading the Labor Department’s agency for protecting workers’ rights.

Right on, President Obama, thanks for helping put labor-law violators on notice.