Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday mentioned two Northeast companies that have recently laid off workers.
On his Facebook page, Trump shared a Philadelphia magazine story reporting on more than 1,300 layoffs coming to Cardone Industries Inc., which has sites at 5501 Whitaker Ave. and 5670 Rising Sun Ave. Cardone, an auto parts remanufacturer, will move its brakes division to Mexico.
Trump wrote, “1,300 Layoffs for Northeast Philly’s Cardone Industries. The auto parts re-manufacturer is moving a division to Mexico. I am the ONLY one who can fix this! We need to keep jobs here in AMERICA!” The post has more than 70,000 “likes.”
Somebody linked the Philadelphia magazine story to the Twitter page of Eric Trump, the candidate’s son. The younger Trump replied, “So sad Brian. I can tell you it will be a different game under @realDonaldTrump”
At a debate in South Carolina, Donald Trump expressed anger that the Carrier air conditioning company will be moving jobs from Indianapolis to Mexico.
Trump said, “Carrier is moving to Mexico, air conditioning company. Not only the ones I talk about all the time, Nabisco and Ford and — they’re all moving out.”
Mondelez last year closed the former Nabisco and Kraft plant on Roosevelt Boulevard, and is planning layoffs in Chicago. The company is building a cookie factory in Monterrey, Mexico.
Previously, Trump said, “I’m never eating Oreos again.”
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State Rep. Mark Cohen (D-202nd dist.) will be a candidate for delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Cohen is supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. The convention is July 25–28 in Philadelphia.
Cohen said the Sanders campaign is putting the proper focus on the declining standard of living, the rising poverty rate and increased college tuition. He also likes Sanders’ call for increased Social Security and Medicare benefits.
“I believe Sanders will be a much more aggressive fighter for the middle class and the aspiring middle class of the Northeast than Hillary will,” he said.
Cohen thinks Sanders has momentum after blowing out Clinton in New Hampshire.
“I believe he will do very well in Northeast Philadelphia,” he said.
Cohen will be running as a delegate in the 13th Congressional District. He was a delegate for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Howard Dean in 2004, though he voted for John Kerry after Dean dropped out.
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Jared Solomon, who is challenging Cohen in the primary for his state House seat, supports the establishment of a living wage as a part of his larger platform centered on quality-of-life issues.
Solomon, a lawyer and president of the Castor Gardens-based Take Back Your Neighborhood civic association, said that, “I have personally witnessed good-paying, middle-class jobs disappear from this neighborhood over the course of my life. Residents here in the Lower Northeast are left with jobs that do not provide enough to support a family. Full-time workers should not be in poverty, regardless of their line of work.”
Bonnie Kaye, director of the Northeast GED Center and member of the local business association, said that, “Working at the GED Center in the Northeast, I see first hand the lack of opportunities that are available for hard-working people. Having a leader that will stand firmly for a living wage, who has already shown that they are a champion of quality-of-life issues, is exactly what we need.”
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State Rep. Kevin Boyle, who is challenging state Sen. John Sabatina (D-5th dist.) in the April 26 primary, has secured the support of nine labor unions.
The list consists of the following unions: International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22, Laborers District Council, Steam Fitters Local 420, Sprinkler Fitters 692, Plumbers Union Local 690, Transport Workers Union 234, Iron Workers 401, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees 8.
Wayne Miller, business manager of Sprinkler Fitters 692, said, “This was an easy call for labor. Kevin Boyle has consistently been there for our membership time and time again. He understands our issues and has never voted against us.”
“Rep. Boyle has been a consistent voice for our membership in Harrisburg since being elected in 2010,” said Local 22 President Andrew Thomas. “He has made it a priority to focus on the needs of our local emergency workers to make sure we have what we need to do our jobs every day, and we are eager to see that same leadership under Rep. Boyle in the state Senate.”
The Boyle campaign expects more endorsements from organized labor in the coming weeks.
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State Rep. John Taylor (R-177th dist.), first elected in 1984, will seek another term.
Taylor’s focus includes advocating for medical coverage for drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation and recovery programs. He produced a video entitled Some Goodbyes are Forever that he has been using to educate parents and local youths about the dangers of illegal and prescription drug abuse.
“There is nothing more tragic and heartbreaking than the untimely death of a young person from a drug overdose. I’ve gone to countless funerals over the years and stood with parents as they said their final goodbyes to their young loved ones,” he said. “Providing the necessary medical and counseling support for those afflicted with drug and alcohol addiction is vitally important if we are to save the lives of our young people.”
The deadline to file for the primary was Tuesday. Two Democrats, Joe Hohenstein and Rob Quartucci, were expected to file.
“I have never taken any election or voter for granted. I’ve always sought and received the support of Republicans, Democrats and independents alike,” Taylor said. “This time will be no different. I am proud to have had the support of thousands of local residents in past elections — regardless of their political affiliation. I ask for their support again as I announce my re-election bid.
“My volunteers and committee people are ready for this re-election campaign. In addition, our fundraising in January of this year has us more prepared than ever to communicate our record of accomplishment to the voters and ask for their continued support.”
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Former congressman Joe Sestak, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, released a statement in reaction to Republican Sen. Pat Toomey’s declaration that “[t]he next court appointment should be made by the newly elected president.”
Sestak is calling on Toomey to take action to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court caused by Saturday’s death of Antonin Scalia.
“William Penn said that, ‘To delay justice is injustice.’ It is time for Pat Toomey to fulfill his duty to the people of Pennsylvania and vow to quickly consider a new Supreme Court justice rather than marching lockstep with partisan obstructionists in Washington, D.C.,” Sestak said.
“With so many pressing issues before the Court like the Voting Rights Act, protecting women’s right to choose, reversing Citizens’ United and affirming the need to regulate polluters, the Senate must act swiftly to consider President Obama’s eventual nominee to the court. I also firmly believe that nominating a justice with a legal education outside the Ivy League — which no present justice has — will bring a voice to the Court in tune with the diversity of experiences of the American people and give them all a stronger voice on the Court. Finally, I hope that Justice Scalia’s replacement will follow the model he set for maintaining positive, working relationships with his colleagues despite deep philosophical differences — which is all too lacking in both parties in Washington, D.C.” ••
