U.S. Sen. Won't Fight For $10 Billion Contract As Oshkosh Jobs Leave WI For South Carolina

WISCONSIN — Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said he would not lobby a Wisconsin-based specialty truck and military vehicle manufacturer to keep federally funded jobs in the state, drawing criticism from state Democratic lawmakers and candidates.

"It's not like we don't have enough jobs here in Wisconsin," Johnson said at a news conference Saturday. "So I wouldn't insert myself to demand that anything is manufactured here using federal funds in Wisconsin."

Johnson said that the biggest complaint he has heard from employers is not being able to find workers.

Earlier this month, Oshkosh Defense won a 10-year contract to build 165,000 postal trucks, The Guardian reported. But instead of building them in Wisconsin, the company decided to take an expected 1,000 jobs and a contract worth more than $10 billion to South Carolina.

The jobs offered to Wisconsin were union jobs, and Johnson refused to act, Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes said in a statement. Barnes, a Democrat challenging Johnson for U.S. Senate in 2022, offered himself as a candidate to negotiate the contract.

Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) said in a statement it was her job to support job creation in Wisconsin and that she wanted the trucks built in the state.

"To me, it's simple — I want Oshkosh Defense to manufacture trucks in Oshkosh with Wisconsin workers," Baldwin said.

Sen. Johnson accused the "liberal media" of taking his words out of context and maintained that he heard business leaders claim they weren't able to find enough workers.

Some Wisconsin employers, like bars and restaurants, have reported that employment has rebounded, but not yet to pre-pandemic levels, a study from the Wisconsin Policy Forum showed.

The state also saw its lowest unemployment rate, 2.8 percent, in December 2021, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The number of unemployed Wisconsinites was 86,197.

Barnes said the jobs would have been good paying union jobs that people could raise a family on. Barnes said his father, a member of the United Auto Workers union, would "be the first to tell you that if you want something built right, you build it right here in Wisconsin with our incredible union workforce."

Losing the Oshkosh Defense contract also has political stakes. UAW's vice president, Cindy Estrada, told The Guardian that working people hearing about Building Back Better but also seeing jobs leave would trample opportunities for Democrats running in 2022.

“We’re saying Build Back Better, but you’re getting it wrong right out of the gate," Estrada said. "These are public dollars where we could have more control over making sure this goes to good, union jobs."

Johnson is running for his third term as senator, breaking an initial promise that he wouldn't run for re-election. He's also been criticized for making unverified claims about the COVID-19 pandemic.

See Also: Senator From WI Who Made False COVID-19 Claims To Run Again