44°
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. Community Cinema, a national documentary screening series will screen Brad Lichsteins documentary As Goes Janesville on Oct. 25 in Mount Vernon.
The documentary deals with the closing of the General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisc., the hometown of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Recently, the GM plant was discussed by both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney at the presidential debate on Oct. 3.
The plant, which was the oldest one in North America at the time was shut down in 2008 causing the loss of thousands of jobs. The plant closure in Janesville and the governor's "anti-union stance" led to a recall election Republican Gov. Scott Walker earlier this year.
While many workers were forced to leave their families in search of decent jobs, local business leaders worked to bring new companies to town with the promise of lower wages, reduced regulation, and tax breaks, a news release for the film reads. They formed a powerful alliance with newly elected Republican Governor Scott Walker, whose pro-business, anti-union stance ripped apart the state, triggering an historic recall election. The recall thrust Wisconsins boisterous civil war between workers and the business/political power elite onto front pages nationwide.
But even with the recall election Wisconsin voters chose to keep Walker in office. Walker defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett once again after defeating him in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Walker actually garnered a larger percentage of the vote during the recall election.
The film will be shown at noon at a venue to be announced. A question and answer session about local economic development will follow the film screening. For more information, visit: www.communitycinema.org
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mount Vernon and receive free news updates.
