Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has weighed in on the dispute over whether the Oshkosh Corporation should build tens of thousands of postal service delivery trucks in Oshkosh or South Carolina.
The battle has been brewing for months, then drew more publicity over the weekend when Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said he wasn't going to try to pressure the company to change its plan to build the vehicles in the south.
That prompted criticism from all four Democrats running to unseat Johnson in November: Mandela Barnes, Sarah Godlewski, Alex Lasry and Tom Nelson.
Nelson, the county executive of Outagamie Co. in northeast Wisconsin, noted that Oshkosh Corporation, previously known as Oshkosh Truck, has received tens of millions of dollars of tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) over the last 11 years.
"Oshkosh Truck, at the very least, owes an explanation to WEDC and the people of this state. Wisconsinites are not going to stand for giving $55 million to a big corporation, only to send their jobs and their production south," Nelson told WUWM on Feb. 5.
Nelson doesn't want any more tax credits going to the company if it goes ahead with production in South Carolina.
Under Republican Gov. Scott Walker, WEDC gave Oshkosh Corporation $8 million in credits to expand its Oshkosh Defense business to make tactical vehicles for the military and build a new global headquarters in Wisconsin.
In 2010, the company was awarded $35 million in performance-based tax credits. A 2018 press release from the state added things up and said the company was eligible for $55 million in tax credits through 2020.
During an appearance in Milwaukee Tuesday, Evers said the location of postal vehicle production is up to the Oshkosh Corporation and its partners.
"We do want those jobs in Wisconsin. That is an absolute. But to punish Oshkosh Truck that is not the way to do it. It is for them [and] the unions to work that out. Hopefully, they'll work it out in a way that helps the state of Wisconsin," Evers said.
Also Tuesday, United Auto Workers Local 578 President Bob Lynk urged the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to work with the company to see that the postal delivery vehicles are built in two empty facilities at the Oshkosh plant.
