AFL Endorses Murphy, Slams Fitzpatrick for Outsourcing Jobs

Group calls out former Congressman Fitzpatrick for lying about promises to vote against unfair trade deals that shipped American jobs overseas

(Bristol, PA) – ON MONDAY, the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO endorsed Patrick Murphy in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District race over his opponent, former Congressman Fitzpatrick, who lied to the organization when he promised members he would vote against outsourcing American jobs.

Mary Dunne, President of the Bucks County AFL-CIO, recalled the meeting she had with Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick in the summer of 2005. She traveled from Bensalem to Washington to ask that Fitzpatrick vote against a trade deal that would ship American jobs to Central America. The Congressman promised Mary and the other working families present that day he would vote no.  But something changed in between that meeting and the time Fitzpatrick walked down to the House floor to cast his vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) just a few hours later. As documented in later news reports, Dick Cheney called Fitzpatrick to tell the freshman Congressman they needed his yes vote. That was all it took.

One phone call from Cheney and Congressman Fitzpatrick flipped, breaking his word to his constituents and becoming the tie-breaking vote to outsource American jobs (see article below).
 
“Fitzpatrick lied to my face that day,” Mary said of her 2005 meeting with the former Congressman. “You may not agree with Patrick Murphy on every issue, but you know when he tells you something, he’ll stick to his word.”

The endorsement announcement took place in Bristol at the site of the former Jones New York plant, which laid off hundreds of workers after CAFTA passed and its pattern-making operations were shipped overseas.

Murphy thanked the AFL for their endorsement on behalf of working families and reiterated his commitment to moving our economy forward and creating jobs here at home. He has worked to advance his “Make it in America” aimed at driving innovation and expanding domestic manufacturing. His efforts have centered on closing tax loopholes that encourage outsourcing, providing tax credits to encourage local manufacturers to invest in new technology and innovation, and working to stop China from manipulating its currency and thus gaining an unfair and illegal trade advantage against U.S. producers.

He drew a stark contrast between his efforts and those of his opponent, who advocates a return to the failed Bush economic policies of the past, like unfair trade deals and tax breaks for outsourcing jobs.

“Mike Fitzpatrick voted to outsource American jobs to Central America and the Middle East and then has the nerve to criticize high unemployment,” Murphy said. “That’s like an arsonist complaining about the Fire Department’s response time.”

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