The "National Rescue American Jobs" tour got underway in Minnesota this weekend and stopped at the state Capitol Monday. Organizers said the goal is to stop companies from moving work to other countries.

"When they do that, they destroy communities and upend people's lives," said Josh Syrjamaki, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers of America.

"You've got hundreds of workers across the state of Minnesota, at companies like IMI and Advanced Circuits and up on the Iron Range, because of this new global order, have lost good paying jobs. And, the communities that they live in have been hit hard. And, we've got to find a better way to do this."

Minnesota has lost almost 43,000 manufacturing jobs over the past three years, and many were "outsourced," Syrjamaki said. The new jobs being created pay less, with fewer benefits. One result is thousands of Minnesotans have lost health coverage.

Syrjamaki said companies have a financial motivation to "outsource."

"There are tax breaks to move operations out of here, and that's wrong," he said. "And, they do it because they want to exploit cheap labor in foreign countries. And they want to take advantage of exploiting the environment and natural resources in those other countries. And, therefore, they can make more money doing it."

The "Jobs Tour" stopped in Duluth and St. Cloud over the weekend, before going to the Capitol on Monday. Organizers, which include the United Steelworkers, Minnesota ACT and Rescue American Jobs, are circulating a petition calling on American companies to keep jobs at home.

For more information
Visit the website, www.rescueamericanjobs.org