From Staff Reports

ARDEN — President Barack Obama discussed jobs and the economy during a 20-minute speech to a crowd of workers and invited guests at midday Feb. 13 at Linamar Corp., a Canadian auto-parts manufacturer.

It was Obama’s fourth visit to the Asheville area — and this time it was he day immediately after his annual State of the Union Address.

And before traveling back to Washington, he sent a young man in a dark suit, with an earpiece and coiled wire dangling from his left ear and a large radio on his hip to pick up a large order — as usual for the president — at 12 Bones Restaurant in the River Arts District of Asheville.

Meanwhile, his speech emphasized what he called the success of the partnership between Linamar and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Obama said it shows that government should do more to train workers for the jobs of the future.

A-B Tech worked with the company to teach students the skills they needed to get jobs at the plant, which makes engine blocks and other parts for heavy equipment.

Linamar opened in a former Volvo plant in 2011 and employs 160 people. It plans to hire 600 workers at its Arden plant by 2020.

The president also highlighted “Jeff the Machinist” during his address, referring to Asheville’s Jeff Brower. Obama detailed Brower’s success in clearing the hurdle of a job loss in a tough economy.

At 11:15 that morning, Obama landed in Air Force One at Asheville Regional Airport, after which he boarded an armored Cadillac limousine for the ride to the Linamar plant. He toured the production line with factory workers before addressing a crowd assembed on the factory floor.

“Hello everybody!” Obama said. “Hello, North Carolina! It is good to be back. I love coming to Asheville. Love coming to Asheville. Michelle (the first lady) and I always talk about how, after this whole presidency thing, we’re looking for a little spot to...” His comments were greeted with applause.

Someone in the audience shouted, “Come on down.”

To that, Obama said, “Come on down? Play a little golf, do a little hiking, fishing, barbecue. There are two things that keep bringing me back here. Number one is, I really like the people. And number two is 12 Bones, which I will be stopping at on the way back to the airport.” Again, Obama’s comments were greeted with laughter and applause.

He then thanked officials at Linamar and other organizers of his visit for their efforts.. 

At that point, Obama asserted, “I want to point out two elected officials who are with us here today — first of all, your mayor, Terry Bellamy. Where is Mayor Bellamy? There she is. Good to see you. Plus, you (in Asheville have) got a wonderful mayor. I like that in you, too. And also, Congressman Mel Watt is here. So give Congressman Watt a big round of applause.” (Both Bellamy and Watt are Democrats and African-Americans.)

“So last night, I delivered the State of the Union Address. And I talked about steps we can take right now to strengthen our recovery, but also to build up our middle class. And I said that while we’re seeing some signs of solid progress — car sales are up, housing is starting to recover — we’re still a ways away from where we need to be.

“There still are too many Americans who are out there every day. They’re pounding the pavement. They’re looking for work. You guys probably know friends or family members who are still pretty strapped, having a difficult time. And while it’s true that corporate profits have rocketed to an all-time high, it’s also true that for more than a decade now, wages and incomes haven’t gone up at all just about.”

Further, Obama said, “So we’ve got a lot of work to do. And our job — and this is a job for everybody; it’s not a Democratic thing or a Republican thing. Our job as Americans is to restore that basic bargain that says if you work hard, if you’re willing to meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead. You can get ahead.” The crowd cheered.

“It doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter where you come from. That’s what we should be focused on: How do we make sure that people who are willing to work hard can make a decent living and look after their family?

“Because the true engine of America’s economic growth has always been our middle class. Now, there are a lot of countries that have folks at the top who are doing real well, and a bunch of folks at the bottom, but part of what set America apart was ordinary folks, if they worked hard, they could do well.

“Our middle class when it’s growing, when it’s thriving, when there are ladders of opportunity for people to do a little bit better each year and then make sure that ehri kids are doing even better than them — that’s the American Dream. That’s what we got to fight for. That has to be the North Star that guides everything we do.

“And as I said last night, we should be asking ourselves three questions every single day. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in North Carolina or Texas or California or Oregon. It doesn’t matter. Wherever we are, three things we should be asking. Number one — how do we bring more jobs to America? Number two — how do we equip people with the skills they need to do those jobs? And number three — how do we make sure that once they have a job, it leads to a decent living?”

Obama added, “I believe we reward effort and determination with wages that allow working families to raise thir kids and get ahead. And that’s part of the reason why I said last night that it’s time for an increase in the minimum wage, because if your work full-time, you shouldn’t be in poverty.” The crowd once again applauded.

“And I believe we attract new jobs to America by investing in new sources of energy and new infrastructure and the next generation of high-wage, high-tech American manufacturing. I believe in manufacturing. I think it makes our country stronger.

“So that’s what we can do together. And that’s why I wanted to come back here to Asheville, because there’s a good story to tell here. I know that a few years ago, manufacturing comebacks in North Carolina, a manufacting comeback in Asheville may not have seemed real likely, because Volvo had just left town.

“This plant had gone dark — 228 jobs had vanished. And that was a big blow for this area, because part of what happens is when those manufacturing jobs go away, then suddenly the restaurant has fewer customers, and supplies of the plant star withering. And it’s hard for everybody. It has a ripple effect.”