The Story Behind the Congressman Who Decided CAFTA
In 2005, Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers (AL-03) cast the deciding vote on CAFTA as he changed his mind at the last minute after consulting a CEO of a company that was a large employer in his district.(also a large donor to his campaigns). That company closed its doors and 1,000 people were left unemployed.
Unfortunately, thousands of sock and apparel jobs left the districts of many of those that voted for CAFTA. Many of those also decided to change their vote at the midnight hour.
This vote is not lost on Josh Segall, a 29 year old attorney and first time challenger, who is challenging Rogers this fall. In fact this could be one of the deciding factors for voters in this district.
Enter Josh Segall
In an Interview with the Huffington Post yesterday, Josh Segall said when asked about the economy in his district
"The particular vote that matters a lot is CAFTA (the Central American Free Trade Agreement). We can point to particular businesses that moved to Central or South America. They did it in the last three years and Rogers first said that he was opposed to CAFTA and then said he was going to be for it if a particular mill in Alabama told him it wouldn't hurt their business. And that mill is now closed and CAFTA passed by just two votes. So essentially Mike Rogers was the deciding vote for CAFTA"
An article in the Anniston Star, one of the larger newspapers in the District, covered this story in 2006 and said "Third Congressional District Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, blames the decline in Alabama manufacturing jobs on free-trade agreements such as NAFTA, and on foreign competition. Rogers voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement last year. He said he did so only after rewriting the bill to protect textiles, and after Avondale Mills assured him that CAFTA would not hurt its business"
Avondale Mills was the company that Segall refers to that closed in 2006 and as stated earlier over 1,000 people in the 3rd Congressional District lost their jobs.
Segall points to some statistics saying that Alabama has lost 15,000 jobs in the past five years. Many of those can be attributed to such legislation as CAFTA.
Rogers may have consulted the CEO Steve Felker, but that should be taken with a grain of salt. How many of the employees did he talk to about this? How many labor groups did he consult about this?
Read, from The Talladega Daily Home, what Rogers said after the closing "It was just sad,” U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers said Tuesday. “It’s like a death in the family. I heard about it when I got off the plane yesterday and immediately called Mark Tapley (manager of the Sylacauga plant) to extend my condolences. Just as I’ve been a partner with them all along when they were trying to survive, I want to be a part of them when they transition."
Yeah it's a death in the family that you caused Rogers. It's like making a change to your brother's will and not telling his kids that they won't be left anything. And did you talk to any of the workers or just your buddy Felker who gave you $4,000 worth of campaign contributions between 2004 and 2007? See reports of contributions.
Conclusion
Mike Rogers can say he is for raising the minimum wage in campaign videos, but we have proof that he hurt the workers in his district. Mike Rogers doesn't listen to workers. Mike Rogers listens to Corporate CEO's.
Please take action and help Josh Segall, who will work hard to bring jobs back to his district and save jobs from being cut.
Donate $25.01 to Josh Segall and you will not be disappointed. This is a race that matters. Rogers is one of the most ineffective members of Congress.
