For too long, debates over international trade have been dominated by corporate elites and economic idealogues, rather than rooted in the experiences of ordinary Americans.
The Trade Stories Project allows people who have been affected by policies and institutions like NAFTA and the WTO to share their views on a matter crucial to the global economy.
This includes displaced workers, farmers, small business owners and immigrants who have been typically excluded from the trade debate.
Mary McCormick
Houston, MN
Mary worked at the TRW Automotive Plant for three years, before being laid off in the summer of 2008 when her job moved to Reynosa, Mexico. A former member of UAW Local 958, Mary is now in a Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) retraining program, studying to become a medical assistant.
“We had a suspicion that we were going to get laid off… They kept telling us that this job [would be sent to Mexico] if we didn’t keep doing it faster and faster and faster. “They’d give us numbers to meet. Then when we’d meet the numbers, they’d take people away and they’d still want us to meet those numbers or even higher numbers. So, for instance, our job started out with 13 people. It got knocked down to 12 people. Then it was ten people. Then you’re at eight people. Now it’s six people. But they still wanted us to make the same numbers as when we were at 13. “There was a point where it was everyday you heard, ‘If you don’t do this, it’s going to Mexico.’ What were we supposed to do? We just figured that was their excuse, but then they came in and said, in about two weeks, this will be your last day.”
Hear part of Mary's story...