MIDDLETOWN – The nation can expect a rebirth of labor, the president of the Hudson-Catskill Central Labor Council said as the nation marks the day that honors workers.
The labor movement will be speaking out more loudly in the future, said Sparrow Tobin.
“I think you see that with the teachers’ strikes happening throughout the country. People are fed up that the economy is doing well for some but not for everybody else and a lot of people feel the wage workers are being left behind whether the economy is doing great, productivity is up, but wages have remained stagnant, especially when you factor in inflation.”
Tobin would like to see more manufacturing return to the United States, rather than continue overseas. He agreed with the president that some free trade agreements should be renegotiated to stop exporting jobs. “We have the most productive workers in the world. Why are we shipping these jobs overseas just because it can be done a little cheaper in China or Asia?” he said.
Tobin believes the American people will pay a little more to buy products made in America.
