Penny Mormann and her husband lost their jobs in 2008 when TRW, an auto parts manufacturer, moved its assembly line from Winona, to Reynosa, Mexico. Soon after, they lost their home to foreclosure.  Read Penny’s story here.

Ivonne and John Schmidt own a small farm in Marietta that produces small grains, hay, and beef cows. The two agree that something must be done to improve the sustainability of our agricultural system. They are concerned that with the growth in the size of many farms, our food’s nutritional quality is falling and our national health is suffering as a result. They urge us to reconsider trade as it has been occurring.  Read the Schmidt’s story here.

 

Nick Frey is a third generation auto worker who worked for Ford. Nick transferred to the plant in St. Paul after his job was cut at a plant in Michigan, but was laid off in 2007. Read Nick’s story here.

 

 

 

Steve Petoletti worked at the Diamond plant in Cloquet almost 10 years before being laid off.  He was recalled once, but again laid off.  Many wooden products the plant used to make are now being made in China.  Read Steve’s story here.

 

 

 

Joel Raney worked as an associate publishing specialist at Thomson Reuters in Eagan for just over a year and a half. It was his second time losing a job for trade related reasons. Read Joel’s interview here.

 

 

 

Sherry Klein lost her position at the TRW Automotive Plant in the summer of 2008 when her job was relocated to Reynosa, Mexico.  Read Sherry’s interview here.

 

 

 

 

Wanda Boehmke worked at a manufacturing plant off-and-on since the early 1980s, until it moved to Mexico in 2008.  She made parts for Whirlpool refrigerators, Hoover vacuum cleaners and American cars.  Read Wanda’s story here.

 

 

 

Mary McCormick made automotive parts for TRW Automotive for three years. The whole time her bosses used the threat of offshoring to get employees to work more for less. Read Mary’s story here.

 

 

 

Glenn Hahn has been farming in southeastern Minnesota for over 30 years and has seen many changes in the industry during this time. While many of these changes have threatened the sustainability of small farmers, but Glenn notes that “without trade none of it’s fair.” Read Glenn’s story here.

 

Eunice Biel owns and operates a dairy farm with her family in southeastern Minnesota. The Biels are fighting for their viability as farmers and constantly struggling with current trade policy, which Eunice says has put agriculture at a severe disadvantage—especially in dairy. Read more of Eunice’s interview here.

 

 

Alton Walker has been a beef farmer in northwestern Minnesota for over 50 years. He is concerned with how current trade imbalances have impacted farmers and consumers, as well as the job loss that has occurred when companies move overseas to take advantage of cheap labor. Read Alton’s story here.

 

 

Gerardo Cajamarca is a labor and human rights activist. He describes the impacts trade liberalization has had on workers, peasants, and indigenous communities in his homeland of Colombia.  Read Gerardo’s story here.

 

 

Dwight Ault has been a farmer in the Midwest for almost 50 years and is worried by the changes he has seen in the farm system. He urges farmers to question traditional values of trade benefits, and learn from the past failures of NAFTA to be more cautious when it comes to trade, and pending free trade agreements. Read Dwight’s story here.