Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin joined Fox Valley union leaders on Thursday in a call for Oshkosh Corp. to reconsider its decision to build a fleet of U.S. Postal Service vehicles in South Carolina rather than Wisconsin.
The project would bring an estimated 1,000 jobs to Oshkosh, where the company has manufactured trucks for more than 100 years.
"I want Oshkosh Defense to manufacture trucks in Oshkosh with Wisconsin workers," Baldwin said during a virtual news conference. "The opportunity to build the new USPS trucks is the kind of rare opportunity that states yearn for to boost their local economies."
Last February, the company's defense division won a multibillion-dollar contract with the Postal Service to manufacture up to 165,000 next generation delivery vehicles to replace its aging fleet. In June 2021, Oshkosh Defense announced it would build them in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The company's plan would bring an estimated 1,000 jobs to Spartanburg. It would call for more than 100 engineering and program support employees to be based in Oshkosh.
Since the June announcement, Democrats and union workers have urged the company to reconsider, arguing that the work in South Carolina would likely be done by non-union employees.
Baldwin and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, sent a letter to Oshkosh Defense management late last year seeking more information about the plan.
Baldwin told reporters on Thursday she wants to look closely at the contract, because she believes it was awarded on the assumption that existing facilities in Oshkosh would be used to produce the trucks. She said she also wants to talk more with the Postal Service about its intent for the project.
"We know Wisconsin workers are the best in the country, and it’s my job to support job creation in Wisconsin. I want the trucks built here," Baldwin told reporters. "Oshkosh Defense has a history of manufacturing vehicles in the state of Wisconsin with an experienced and skilled union workforce, so I don’t like the fact that they decided to move productions of these postal trucks to South Carolina in what appears to be a newly acquired facility and what will likely be with non-union hires and inexperienced hires."
Bob Lynk, president of United Auto Workers Local 578, said he believes the contract was given to Oshkosh Defense based on the "quality workmanship" of the Oshkosh facility and the reputation its workers have built manufacturing military vehicles.
UAW Local 578 represents about 1,600 Oshkosh Corp. workers who produce about 26 trucks per day, Lynk said.
"We have a huge pool of skilled laborers who are ready to get to work. What’s more is our workforce has been trained and built the highly complex military vehicles that keep our troops safe. Our workmanship is second to none," Lynk said.
Tim Jacobson, chief steward for the union, said the Oshkosh facility can execute the project "better than anyone else could."
"Oshkosh Defense looked throughout Wisconsin, and many other states, for an existing building that was large enough to build the USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle. Wisconsin did not have a single available building that could meet the requirements," said Oshkosh Defense vice president of global strategy and marketing Jori Hartwig in an emailed statement.
Hartwig said a minimum of 825,000 square feet of manufacturing space is needed for the USPS vehicles — more than twice the size of the largest facility in Oshkosh.
"Our existing facilities in Oshkosh are fully occupied and set up to execute Defense programs. Further, with the strict timing requirements of the program, building a new facility was not feasible," Hartwig said.
Lynk and Jacobson balked at the position of Baldwin's Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
Johnson told reporters earlier this week that he won't "insert" himself to demand anything be manufactured in Wisconsin using federal funds, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
"It's not like we don't have enough jobs here in Wisconsin. The biggest problem we have in Wisconsin right now is employers not being able to find enough workers," Johnson said.
Candidates running in the Democratic primary to challenge Johnson in November seized on his remarks.
State treasurer Sarah Godlewski tweeted, "Ron Johnson doesn't give a sh*t about Wisconsin workers. But I do. That's why I'm running." Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry accused Johnson of being "out of touch with the needs of Wisconsinites." Outagamie County executive Tom Nelson stood outside Johnson's Oshkosh office with a sign that read, "Make it in Oshkosh!"
Nelson also paid for a billboard near Oshkosh accusing Johnson of not caring about local jobs, and sent a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for an amendment to the U.S. Postal Reform Act requiring the vehicles be built in Oshkosh and be fully electric.
"My dad is an active member of the UAW," Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes tweeted. "He spent 30 years on the assembly line, assembling catalytic converters, and he'd be the first to tell you that if you want something built right, you build it right here in Wisconsin with our incredible union workforce."
Johnson, who hails from Oshkosh, accused the "liberal media" of twisting his remarks to fit a narrative, tweeting that he is "always supportive of manufacturing in Wisconsin."
"Nearly nine in 10 Wisconsin businesses are struggling to hire workers and that is the direct result of the Democrats’ out of control spending, that is driving up inflation, causing worker shortages and supply chain crises," Johnson tweeted. "That is the real crisis under Democrat governance."
Lynk and Jacobson said they both hope to talk with Johnson, but their schedules haven't yet aligned. Lynk told reporters it's "absurd" to think Wisconsin doesn't need more jobs.
Jacobson noted that skilled workers who have been laid off in recent years — including from Oshkosh Corp. — are looking for opportunities to put their talents to work.
"We already felt the pain of outsourcing to other countries — now we're fighting against having our jobs outsourced to another state," Jacobson said. "We expect a company that’s named after our hometown would have the decency to keep the jobs here."
