Emilia Garcia and her grandaughter Ileana Vazquez. Garcia and her fellow members at American Racing Custom Wheels in Los Angeles face increasing pressure from cheap imports and nonunion competitors.

Losing it All: My Job, My Insurance, My Home

Luck has nothing to do with how the economy works. Conscious choices eroded our industrial base, sent our jobs overseas and made us vulnerable. Now, a river of pain cuts through the heart of North America.

Communities from coast to coast face waves of plant closings, layoffs and business and personal bankruptcies.

To revive our industries, restore our economic health and return people to work demands decisive action.

North America’s might –– its trained, talented and tenacious workers –– is draining away. One by one, they are losing their jobs, their life savings and their dreams

But the numbers mount. Almost two million manufacturing workers in Canada and the United States lost their jobs last year. More layoffs will come. 

Meanwhile, Congress and Parliament twiddle their thumbs or point fingers at each other. They neither see nor feel the pain working families endure.

Perhaps, the stories on the following pages will remind the politicians that they, too, could be “losing  it all.”