Mike Pence is Not Sticking Up for Hoosiers on Jobs Losses

Indianapolis – In the wake of the devastating news that 2,100 Hoosiers will soon lose their jobs to Mexico, today Indiana Democratic Party Chair John Zody called on Governor Mike Pence to step up for the affected workers and their communities.

“When it comes to national issues over which he has no control, Governor Mike Pence rushes to the nearest microphone to weigh in. Yet, when thousands of Hoosiers’ jobs disappear he doesn’t rush to stick up for them. It just speaks to the misplaced priorities of this governor,” said Zody. “Clearly he’s more interested in headlines and sound bites than in improving the lives of everyday working people – and for these workers and all Hoosiers that is a shame.”

Both of the facilities that are closing, Carrier in Indianapolis and UTEC in Huntington, are owned by United Technologies and received incentives from the state of Indiana in the past. Last year the company posted a $7.2 billion profit.

“We’d also challenge the governor to ask United Technologies for Indiana’s money back,” added Zody. “No business should be able to use Hoosiers hard earned tax dollars to ship our jobs to Mexico.”

In addition Zody urged the governor to deploy state resources from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to assist these families and to personally visit both locations.

“Anytime a business expands or creates a single job, he’s there to take credit. And, even today in Kokomo, he claimed credit for the auto industry’s recovery, despite his votes in Congress against it,” added Zody. “He can’t take only the good, and ignore the bad, even if that’s his definition of ‘a state that works.’”