We pay for the research, foreign workers get to make the products

We pay for the research, foreign workers get to make the products

Don Shilling’s article, “Lights Out,” in the March 6 Vindicator was an unbiased snapshot of the demise of the local GE lighting industry. It brought attention to our local’s plight and provided one more piece that helps continue the public dialogue on the dire situation of American manufacturing.

This article shows that the lighting industry is going through an unprecedented change. The American worker can and should be a part of that change. Unfortunately, lighting manufacturers, with the federal government’s help, are doing all they can to ship more manufacturing jobs overseas. Large scale steel production is gone in Pittsburgh, and car manufacturing is gone in Detroit, but with the public’s support maybe we can revive the lighting industry in northeastern Ohio.

We have all heard Jeff Immelt’s comments on saving U.S. manufacturing jobs and going “green”. If this is GE’s true stance, then why isn’t the transition to LED technology in lighting taking place here? Nela Park, GE’s incandescent headquarters is located in northeastern Ohio along with Lumination, their LED headquarters. So why can’t they keep manufacturing here instead of sending jobs to China, Mexico, and other countries whose governments did not subsidize the research and development of LED products?

This is not a union versus nonunion issue, nor is it a corporate versus worker issue. It is an issue that affects us all on a national level. We are all on the verge of losing manufacturing and the middle class that it created. Michael Petras stated that “The Ohio Lamp in Warren has the highest paid light bulb workers in the world,” but he neglected to mention the productivity of our plant. He also neglected to mention that the top five GE executives were compensated over $65 million in 2009.

JIM BULLOCK, Warren