California’s Made-in-China Bay Bridge Symbol of Failure

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.usw.org/media_center/releases_advisories?id=0524

Billboards Will Help Drive Changes to Reinvest Tax Dollars in American Workers and Manufacturing

Contact: [e-mail];

Emeryville, CA (Mar. 26) – A national Should Be Made in America campaign by the non-profit, non-partisan Alliance for America Manufacturing (AAM) kicks off today at the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, a massive construction project that was outsourced to China at the cost of thousands of American manufacturing jobs.

The Should Be Made in America campaign will feature outdoor and digital advertising as well as online activism to urge the use of American-made components for infrastructure projects financed with U.S. tax dollars. The campaign launches with two large billboards stationed near the Bay Bridge that feature the flag of the People's Republic of China inscribed with:

“The Bay Bridge/100% Foreign Steel. ShouldBeMadeInAmerica.com.”



Leo W. Gerard, USW International President in Pittsburgh, PA, said: “Many Californians and people all across the country are unaware that the new $7.2 billion bridge still under construction with a 2.2 mile East Span and a 525 foot-tall steel tower was made in China. The consequences for American workers and California taxpayers is common sense when you consider our unemployment is too high and a major infrastructure project cuts out American steel and manufactured goods.”

FULL story at link.

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_iron_ore_production

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_steel_production

http://www.steelonthenet.com/consumption.html

China produces more than 20 times more iron and 8.5 times more steel than the US. The US USES about 20-30 million tonnes MORE steel than it produces. I don't really think you can square that circle.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. I am seriously worrying about the qualtiy of the Chinese made steel.

[BeHereNow]

3. LOL, my thought too; if the merchandise is anything like the crap in Walmart...

I'm not sure how safe I would feel crossing that bridge.
Think I'd opt for the subway instead.

BHN

[CreekDog]

9. I'd rather it be made here, but even so, Caltrans has engineers in China

inspecting things as they're made.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. You remember when those pieces of the bridge fell off onto the roadway?

For some reason, I have always felt uncomfortable crossing the Bay Bridge.
None of the others, just that one.

[eissa]

19. I do remember that

and it did little to quell my phobia of crossing that bridge. The Golden Gate may be older, but I feel safer crossing that one than the Bay Bridge. It's bad enough a part of it fell during the '89 earthquake, but then a new part during this reconstruction? That's just great.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Yes there is, but we have not wanted to square that circle

Granted, it cannot be instant, but it is time to reindustrialuze this country.

[harmonicon]

6. facts, schmacts

Facts have never stopped some people on DU from becoming outraged about something for their own entertainment.

That said - and maybe someone can correct me here - I think US steel production has declined, in part because of cheap imports.

I'm all for tariffs on foreign products which could be produced in the US to ensure parity, but simple indignation about the use of foreign products baffles me.

[madrchsod]

10. why? because most if not all asian products are substandard compared to what we made in the usa.

the good to excellent products that are made in asia are built to us specs and our quality control standards. these products could be made in the usa by workers just as good as any worker in the world. the difference is our price of labor. we demand to much for the 1%

[shanti]

11. tariffs on foreign products

obama promised that he would do that in 2008.....*crickets*

[krispos42]

7. Then we use quality American steel in a critical infrastructure project

and use the Chinese stuff for something else.

[madrchsod]

8. i worked where they made all types of wire cloth

chicken wire,fencing,barb,etc. i use to scrap the same shit that is made in china. it burns my ass to think i have to pay 5-10 for fucking scrap...so i do`t buy it.

the best thing to do with chinese shit is melt it down for pot metal.

[madrchsod]

5. i worked at a mill that could have made beam for that bridge

the company i worked for bought a brand new never run 48in H beam mill. both are gone because our government decided to let the chinese under cut the price of beam and flat rolled steel. that`s why we do`t have the capacity anymore.

i would`t trust any steel made in china because their quality control is non existent.

[midnight]

12. What a cop out. Job outsourced to save the tax payer money....

[Sirveri]

13. Should be made here because that's what the stimulus money is FOR.

It's totally pointless to try and go abroad to get it 'cheaper', then entire point of buying the infrastructure is to dump that money back into the hands of the labor market so that they'll dump it back into the economy (which is why it creates like 1.64$ for every dollar spent).

[bahrbearian]

14. The Repugs didn't want stimulus money tagged "built in the USA"

they fought for "Free Market" stimulus. China had a Stimulus Bill tagged "Built in China"

[Romulox]

16. Ever been to Ca? Most of the cars crossing this thing will be foreign in origin. nt

[onethatcares]

17. those American Steel Mills have closed and are now abandoned

with broken windows, gang graffiti on them, and the machinery on the floors

of Chinese plants in order to make a few more cents for the rich bastards

to buy another island, another boat, four more houses and some diamonds for

their wives.

Our country is no longer a part of the global economy, they've decided to let it die.

FOR A FEW MORE CENTS PER SHARE.

[Muskypundit]

18. Herp derp FREE TRAYDE derp

[Omaha Steve]

20. This post got more attention than I expected