As a supporter of Mary Burke, it seems necessary to clarify some of the recent allegations and twisting of facts concerning the Trek Corp., being offered by Gov. Scott Walker, whenever he happens to be in our state, not chasing money from dark-money PACs.
Trek has a history of creating good paying jobs here in Wisconsin. Employing nearly 1,000, it is the largest manufacturer of bikes in the U.S. Over the last two decades Trek’s Wisconsin payrolls have doubled and currently is $50 million annually. Further, Trek adds $40 million to Wisconsin’s economy annually by purchasing goods and services from other state businesses.
Trek is a global corporation, selling and manufacturing around the world, like thousands of other corporations. Thus, Trek is not some sleazy entity as Walker has tried to portray.
This is a sharp contrast to Walker’s miserable record of job creation. He promised our citizens he would create 250,000. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Walker has not reached half that goal since he took office. Wisconsin is dead last among the 10 Midwest states and 37th in the entire country. Do we really need more of this failure?
Now, let’s look at Walker’s creation, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Created and chaired by the governor himself, WEDC subsidizes corporations with our taxes. WKOW in Madison reported that two of those corporations were awarded nearly $5 million in tax credits from WEDC. They later outsourced more than 100 jobs to foreign countries. Members of the boards of directors of the two corporations have contributed more than $20,000 to Walker’s campaigns.
Let’s elect Mary Burke. She supports U.S. trade policies promoting American products and jobs. As governor, Burke would push federal officials to level the field between the U.S. and our trading partners in the areas of labor costs, environmental regulations and workplace safety.
George Lorenz
Waupaca