For Kim Donovan, working for Otis Elevator has always run in the family. Donovan, a Bloomington resident since age 3, came with her family when her father transferred to the local Otis plant in 1965. In 1987, she started a 17-year career at the same factory where her father had begun 22 years earlier.\nLast year, Donovan lost her job. One of about 165 local Otis employees laid off in 2003, she began collecting unemployment as her source of income, and the remainder of Bloomington's Otis Elevator production moved to Mexico. \n"Otis was really strong when I started in 1987," she said. "It's really declined since then. Probably for the last year and a half I was there, I knew I was leaving. I was just waiting. I knew my job was gone."\nOtis Elevator is the world's largest company manufacturing, installing and servicing elevators, escalators, moving walkways and shuttle systems. At peak operating capacity in 1989, the Bloomington plant employed 1,100 workers, according to The Associated Press. Presently, the company continues the elimination of all local factory, distribution and field-tool operations. An expected 200 positions will remain at the end of this year.\nFor Donovan and many of the 106,000 Hoosiers who have been laid off since May 2000, job outsourcing is not simply a presidential debate topic, but a matter of daily life. As MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign reports, George W. Bush is poised to end his term as the first U.S. president in 70 years to oversee a net loss in employment, as an estimated 1.6 million Americans have lost their private-sector jobs to overseas redistribution.
NATIONAL ISSUE\nAt the third presidential candidate debate in Tempe, Ariz., moderator Bob Schieffer asked Bush for a hypothetical response to an American worker who had lost his job to outsourcing. The president's response centered on education.\n"I'd say, Bob, I've got policies to continue to grow our economy and create the jobs of the 21st century. And here's some help for you to go get an education. Here's some help for you to go to a community college," Bush said. "We've expanded trade adjustment assistance. We want to help pay for you to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century."\nThe Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, had a different response to Schieffer's question.\n"Outsourcing is going to happen," Kerry said. "I've acknowledged that in union halls across the country ... What I can promise you is that I will make the playing field as fair as possible, that I will, for instance, make certain that, with respect to the tax system, that you as a worker in America are not subsidizing the loss of your job."\nKerry has outlined a plan to provide monetary incentives for American businesses that maintain and create employment in the United States. Kerry has vowed that his economic program will create 10 million jobs in four years.\nWith CNN reporting a loss of 2.4 million American jobs between February 2001 and January 2004, outsourcing has become a widely discussed election issue.\n"I feel like since (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was passed through Clinton, and they don't talk about repealing NAFTA or anything, you can't really blame Bush for (outsourcing)," Donovan said. "The subject of outsourcing has no real effect on my vote."
LOCAL RESPONSE\nToday, Donovan, a mother of four children ranging in age from nine to 20 years old, is a full-time student at IU. Donovan's books and tuition costs are covered by the Otis corporation, which offers educational coverage for four years from the day she was laid off, while she is studying for a general studies degree through IU's School of Continuing Studies. \n"I love going to school, but then again, I wish I still had my job," she said. "It's quite challenging, there have been many tears shed." \nWorkOne is an Indiana government program composed of local agencies assisting in workforce development. The organization's main purpose is to assist Indiana residents in getting a new job, a better job or a first job, said Bloomington WorkOne Program Director Richard Ramptly. Between 5 and 10 percent of the unemployed workers Ramptly sees in his office have been affected by outsourcing, he said. Among a list of offered services, WorkOne assists with unemployment insurance, job referrals, job application workshops and financial assistance for school. WorkOne counselors conduct individual consultation to applicants in order to determine the type of services they are qualified to receive, Ramptly said \n"It's a pretty uniform figure, nationally -- about one-third of all laid-off workers will return to school," Ramptly said. "Oftentimes it's short-term."\nIn some cases, WorkOne provides monetary support for job training and continuing education. Financial assistance typically depends on the type of occupation an applicant looks to pursue and market demand for that profession. \n"Most of our applicants that return to school study at Ivy Tech or through IU's School of Continuing Studies because of the program flexibility," he said.
ONE WORKER COPES\nKevin Harper, 46, spent 15 months unemployed and considering which direction to take after losing his job at Otis in 2002. Harper was one of 370 laid off as production moved to China in the first round of the final sweep to move production overseas. Last year, he began truck-driving school with the help of WorkOne but stopped shortly after.\n"It took my getting laid off to realize how much I disliked my job. I decided driving a truck wasn't for me," he said. "I wasn't going to do another thing I couldn't stand."\nHarper worked at a local veterinary clinic for six months before becoming a full-time student at IU. Like his one-time co-worker, Donovan, Harper is pursuing a degree through IU's continuing studies program. \n"It's impossible to make money in this town without a degree. This turned out to be the perfect opportunity for me to figure out what to do with the rest of my life," said Harper, who is considering attending veterinary school after receiving his bachelor's degree in 2007. \nHarper said that he is more concerned with a candidate's integrity than his views on outsourcing when asked how his experience has influenced his intended vote.\n"Neither of the candidates is going to affect my life," Harper said. \n-- Contact staff writer Molly Erman at merman@indiana.edu.
