NORWICH – A crowd of just over 20 employees and others gathered last week at Unison Industries in Norwich to hear U.S. Congressional candidate Raymond Meier’s plans to improve and secure manufacturing jobs in Chenango County.

Senator Meier (R-Western), who is seeking to succeed Sherwood Boehlert (R-New Hartford) in New York’s 24th District spot in the House of Representatives, outlined a component of his economic platform titled, “Fighting for American Manufacturing Jobs.”

“Manufacturing is in crisis,” Meier said Wednesday, pointing to the loss of 20,000 manufacturing jobs in New York. “The industrial revolution helped create the American middle class... America as we know it will look a lot different if Washington doesn’t stand up for American manufacturing.”

Meier described a plan that would take various legislative actions to reform federal tax codes, eliminate foreign advantages in currency manipulations (that he said have resulted in the country’s current trade deficit), and create more stringent policy regarding industrial intellectual theft.

Meier said it is up to Washington to reverse the weakening industrial economy, and to make areas like Chenango County more conducive for manufacturing growth and stability.