Democratic Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Katie McGinty rolled out her jobs creating package Wednesday during a stop in Pittsburgh.
She said manufacturing jobs are a part of Pittsburgh’s past, but also need to be a part of its future.
“The cutting edge of manufacturing is not about cheap labor,” McGinty said while standing in front of the “Industry” mural at the Allegheny County Courthouse. “It’s about skilled labor, plus technology, plus speed to market.”
McGinty is calling for a level playing field that does not include the controversial Trans Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP), but does include Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, “so workers have access to training and employment resources.”
TAA helps workers displaced by international trade, offering assistance with reemployment and benefits.
In April of 2015, Republican opponent U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey told MSNBC that the TPP "is going to allow us to knock down barriers to allow us to export more manufactured goods from Pennsylvania... When we actually take an honest look at this we're going to see this helps to encourage economic growth in the United States."
In August of this year, after all of the details had been released, Toomey took a stance against TPP, citing unfixed issues. He said it was a bad deal for Pennsylvania.
McGinty said she would like to see additional training and education options, as well. She said she has been told by manufactures that open jobs are available for workers with the right skills.
“What I’d like to do is to provide incentive for employers to invest up front in job training and apprenticeship programs,” McGinty said.
McGinty said she wants to see union-based and community college-based programs strengthened through government support.
The candidate’s jobs package also includes a call for closing loopholes in the tax code that allows companies to use tax breaks intended to help them move jobs within the U.S. to instead send jobs overseas.
McGinty said she also sees opportunity in the federal government investing more when it comes to improving infrastructure and increasing renewable energy capacity.
EDITOR NOTE: This story was edited at 8:58 am 9/1/16 to more accurately represent Sen. Toomey's stance on the TTP.
