Sharpton stumps with jobless steelworkers

GEORGETOWN - Al Sharpton said Monday he wanted to come to Georgetown to spur unemployed steelworkers to keep up their fight against trade pacts that take jobs offshore.

Stumping for about 35 people at the Steelworkers Union Local 7898 hall, Sharpton urged workers from Georgetown Steel Co., which closed Oct. 20, to keep fighting.

"You're not just fighting for your job, you're fighting to change these trade agreements," Sharpton said.

He is the fourth Democratic presidential candidate to make a campaign stop in Georgetown. The town, suffering from high unemployment caused by a string of plant closings, became a pivotal point for candidates.

Sharpton is the second of the four to speak at the steelworkers' hall. The first was Dick Gephardt, who was endorsed by the national union and then dropped out after his Iowa loss.

A sign proclaiming "Steelworkers for Gephardt" and autographed by the candidate still hung on the wall in the room where Sharpton spoke.

John Edwards campaigned in town Sunday, and Howard Dean visited in late December.

On a swing from Columbia to Charleston, Georgetown, Florence and Sumter, Sharpton talked about standing up for the labor movement.

"This race is about jobs and about workers feeding their families," he said. "I know what it is to walk picket lines, to go on strike. You've got to fight, you've got to stand together."

Sharpton said if elected, he would rescind the North American Free Trade Agreement. It's not protectionism to oppose such trade agreements, he said, "it's just good common sense."

Kenny Casselman, formerly the chairman of the union grievance committee, said he was happy Sharpton took the steelworkers' plight to heart.

"I'm glad he came and is bringing the issues that he's bringing to the forefront," Casselman said. "This NAFTA thing is killing us."