Plant Workers Say Bush Speech Will Cost Them
As Democrats and moderate Republicans in Congress continue to fight President Bush's attempts to pass a series of tax cuts that have come under fire as favoring corporations and the wealthy (see WIT's for Dec. 13, 2001, Feb. 7, May 30, and Nov. 21, 2002, and April 24, 2003), are already paying the costs of Bush's campaign for the proposed cuts. The CEO of a non-union Nebraska factory where Mr. Bush plans to speak today in favor of the tax cuts---in an attempt to pressure Democratic Senator Ben Nelson to vote for the full package of cuts---has told over 300 workers they may lose their wages for the day. With the area of the plant in which Mr. Bush is giving his speech shutting down for one-and-a-half shifts, workers unable to spend their shift working in another area of the plant may be forced to use up paid leave, take an unpaid day, or work on their weekend.
See "Plant Workers Say Bush Speech Will Cost Them", STEVEN GREENHOUSE, The New York Times, May 11, 2003