When it was built in 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was a Depression-era project that put scores of Americans to work. When its $6.3 billion replacement opens in two years, it will be an international affair from the bottom up, an example of massive outsourcing that has drawn both praise and criticism.
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Several thousand Chinese workers spent five years fabricating the steel used to construct the roadbeds, cable strands, and landmark tower for the single anchor suspension bridge set to open in 2013.
Roger Ferch with the National Steel Bridge Alliance says "I saw one estimate of the fabrication man hours, the labor to construct this bridge in the fabrication shop of more than a million man hours. That's a million man hours of work that should have been done in the US."
And each job, Ferch, says, has a multiplier effect "because not only do you lose the fabrication jobs, you lose those people paying taxes, those people buying groceries, those people buying clothing, and the list goes on."
California transportation officials argue they saved $400 million by turning to China, in large part because they didn't have to pay American union wages and benefits. With the clock ticking, they say more was at stake than money.
Did you read that? They didn't have to pay union wages!!!
Another example of union's being detrimental to our nation's economy.
Americans could have had a job for at least 5 years if it was built here. Grrrr.
That just makes me mad as hell. Does anyone else give a damn?
Unions have become too powerful in the U.S. O'Bama's main source of support seems to be the unions. Do the math--reduce the power of these unions and vote for someone other than O'Bama in 2012!
The only math needed is the minus sign. If only we could identify and get rid of the ones who are really in control of this country.
Presidents are just figureheads. They get their orders from the select elite, who ever they are.
They are billionaires who are greedy, greedy and more greedy.
They want to control it all at any cost. Wars and americans killed have no consequence for them.
It may sound nutty to some of you but true nonetheless.
7:42
Hear here
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