How NAFTA Broke American Politics
In May of last year, Marcus Carli, the plant manager of the Master Lock factory in Milwaukee, Wis., called a surprise meeting with the board of United Auto Workers Local 469. Several officers of the union, which represents the workers at the plant, joined Carli and an executive from Master Lock’s parent company in a tiny conference room. Carli brought along a security guard. “He’s here for my protection,” Carli told the union representatives. As the guard sat down, Yolanda Nathan, the local’s incoming president, noticed his gun. “That’s when I thought, Oh, we’re losing our jobs,” she says. Carli immediately confirmed her worst fears. “The plant’s closing,” he announced. “It took my breath away,” Nathan says. “It took all our breaths away.”
