LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Republican John McCain on Friday told autoworkers in an economically depressed area of Ohio that he supports free-trade agreements many of them feel cost jobs, but also government investment to help produce the electric cars of the future.
His confession and commitment followed a tour of a General Motors factory that produces the gas-thrifty Chevrolet Cobalt. Company officials recently announced they will add a third shift, and 1,400 workers, in August so they can build the cars 24 hours a day.
GM has also announced plans to build in 2010 the Chevrolet Volt, a vehicle it says will travel 40 miles by battery power and have a range-extending power source to reach 640 miles.
McCain praised both developments as he also made the pitch for an energy strategy that calls for more oil production, development of a revolutionary automotive battery pack and conservation by the federal government in its buildings and its huge auto fleet.
“We must develop vehicles such as are being developed here,” the presidential contender told employees attending a town-hall meeting. “We can lead again in the automotive industry and that can lead to thousands of jobs.”
The Mahoning Valley is a Democratic stronghold that blames its economic woes on the free-trade policies that McCain supports.
The region lost 16,600 jobs from 2000 through 2007, almost all of them in the manufacturing sector. Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the same GM factory in February to announce a plan to reduce the influence of special interests on government decisionmaking.
Although McCain received a respectful welcome from a largely union audience, one employee firmly asked him about trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement — both of which workers think have triggered job shifts to Canada, Mexico and Central America.
Democratic rival Barack Obama has threatened to unilaterally reopen NAFTA if labor and environmental concessions are not made
Later, speaking with reporters, McCain said he is spending a “great deal of time” seeking his running mate, but he still is not sure when he will announce his choice.
