Sanders visits Dubuque, criticizes John Deere layoffs and outsourcing jobs to Mexico

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Friday called out John Deere for its plan to outsource more than 2,000 jobs to Mexico, a decision that has left many workers in Dubuque and across Iowa uncertain about their future.

Speaking at a town hall in Dubuque, the senator decried corporate outsourcing and what he described as “corporate greed’.

He emphasized the need for stronger labor protections and accountability for large companies that move jobs overseas.

“The American people are getting sick and tired of corporate greed,” Sanders said. “What we’re seeing here with John Deere is over a period of years, some 2,000 hardworking people are going to be losing their jobs and see their jobs go to Mexico, where people are making a fraction of the wages that American workers make. That’s got to change.”

John Deere, one of the largest employers in Dubuque, announced earlier this year that it would be shifting thousands of jobs from Iowa to Mexico as part of its restructuring plan.

The move has sparked concerns among local workers and union leaders, including the UAW Local 94 union which has already been involved in previous strikes for better pay and working conditions.

“My message to John Deere is pretty simple,” Sanders said. “Stop these layoffs. Put your employees in lowa and Illinois back to work. Stop outsourcing jobs to Mexico, end your greed and treat the workers in your company with the respect they deserve.”

State Representative Chuck Isenhart (D-Dubuque), who attended the town hall, said it was refreshing to see a U.S. senator paying attention to the struggles of his constituents.

“It’s good to see that a United States senator doesn’t consider Iowa to be a flyover country,” Isenhart said. “Every corporation should be good citizens and take the interests of the community to heart.”

Carla Anderson, a Dubuque resident, said she was frustration about John Deere’s layoffs.

“John Deere is the biggest employer here in Dubuque, and to watch our workers go on strike, have to feed their families and then they send the jobs away… What are they supposed to do?” Anderson said.

Sanders also voiced strong support for the growing labor movement across the country, noting an increase in public sympathy toward unions, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed economic inequalities.

“Right now, what the polling tells us is that more people are sympathetic to unions than has been the case in many, many decades,” Sanders told Iowa’s News Now. “People are seeing many of these corporations making huge profits, giving their CEOs compensation packages that are three, 400 times more than the workers make. And people are saying, ‘That’s wrong.’”

In addition to labor rights, Sanders addressed Social Security reform, calling for an increase in taxes on the wealthiest Americans to secure the future of the program and expand benefits for seniors.

“You’ve got about 25% of seniors in this country living on $15,000 a year,” Sanders said. “If you lift the cap and go after the wealthiest people, you can expand Social Security benefits and increase its solvency by decades.”