Protesters in Bangor decry job losses Pink slips, placards draw attention to Maine manufacturing decline

BANGOR – Emerging from an early-morning fog Thursday, more than 40 people waved pink slips and placards at one of the city’s busiest intersections to protest President Bush’s handling of the loss of more than a million manufacturing jobs locally and nationwide.

The pink slip protest, organized by the Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council, called attention to the plight of more than a million workers who have been given a “pink slip” or job layoff notice during Bush’s presidency, said council president Jack McKay.

The Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council is a regional offshoot of the AFL-CIO, which represents about 60 national unions and affiliates. During the election season, the council has been focusing on workplace rights for workers regardless of union membership.

The protest at the intersection of Broadway and State Street was billed as a response to Wednesday night’s presidential debate, which focused on domestic issues, including the loss of 1.6 million private-sector jobs nationally since Bush was elected four years ago. Many of those jobs have been in the manufacturing sector, including wood and paper products and shoes and textiles, and were outsourced or sent by corporations to their facilities or others in foreign countries.

With the growth of public sector jobs, about 580,000 total jobs have been lost during Bush’s presidency, according to national labor statistics.

In Maine, more than 18,000 manufacturing jobs have been eliminated, a figure considered by labor analysts to be higher per capita than any other state.

One of the debate questions, which moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS News posed to President Bush first, was, “Mr. President, what do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who’s being paid a fraction of what that kind of job paid here in the United States?”

Bush responded, “I’d say, Bob, I’ve got policies to continue to grow our economy and create the jobs of the 21st century. And here’s some help for you to go get an education. Here’s some help for you to go to a community college. We’ve expanded trade adjustment assistance. We want to help pay for you to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.”

His opponent, Democrat Sen. John Kerry, countered Bush, stating that the job training money had been cut by a Republican-controlled Congress, which also has not extended unemployment and health care benefits to people without a job.

Michael Woodbury, who was laid off from the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. in Brewer, said Thursday morning that he did not feel that Bush directed his response to the debate question to him.

“What jobs?” asked Woodbury, who two weeks ago finished a temporary position at International Paper in Bucksport. “He doesn’t even make eye contact with Americans. He’s out of touch. He doesn’t know what it’s like to wake up in the morning and wonder if you are going to be able to pay the heating bill.”

Joy Royal-Nevers, an electrician with IBEW Local No. 1253 who rebuilt paper machines and repaired or installed other pieces of equipment at area mills, said Thursday that she has many state licenses and is working toward a master electrician license. But she said she wonders where she will be able to apply her education as President Bush suggested during the debate.

“Why do I need more education?” she asked. “How much more do I need to be a tax-paying citizen in the United States?”

Randy Bumps, executive director of the Maine Bush-Cheney campaign, said that the “rally is inconsistent with job growth and income growth” during the Bush presidency.

He said Bush policies have created two million jobs nationally over the last 31/2 years, about 3,500 last month in Maine, and that Bush wants to continue “pro-growth” policies if re-elected.

“The president said repeatedly [during the debate] that there’s more work to be done, there’s no doubt about that,” Bumps said.

He said that anyone who believes that the jobs being created pay less than the ones that have been lost are making a “baseless observation.”

Bumps said the new jobs make up a changing economy and are comparable to and pay as well as the ones that have been eliminated.