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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Security Camera Company Keeps Jobs in U.S.; Small Business Owners Take Action Against Outsourcing; Family Strives to Buy All American
Aired November 25, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right after a look at what's happening right now in the news.
And good evening. I'm Carol Lin. Just ahead, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. But first, these are the stories making news right now.
U.S. troops around the world are enjoying an American tradition: turkey with all the trimmings. Thanksgiving dinner was dished up for soldiers in Mosul, Iraq, today.
And elsewhere in Iraq, Marines in Falluja got their first hot meal in weeks, not just turkey but also beef, pork and plenty of extras.
Nobody injured, but plenty of people inconvenienced. A rock slide, quite a serious one, too, closed off a stretch of Interstate 70 near Vail, Colorado, this morning. Some of those rocks that tumbled down were eight to 10 feet in diameter. Work crews are using dynamite and jackhammers, and it could be a week before that road is clear.
Those are the headlines this hour. LOU DOBBS TONIGHT begins right now. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, on Thanksgiving Day, a salute to heroes, the men and women who risk their lives in defense of democracy and the American way of life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The job needed to be done. Just went and did it.
PILGRIM: We'll have their stories, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi will join us.
Then, "America Works." We pay tribute to some of the hardworking men and women who make this country work, from the innovators who built America to the everyday heroes who keep it running.
And, "Made in America," the corporations and small business owners who fight every day to keep American jobs and know-how in this country.
DAVID MCDONALD, PRESIDENT & CEO, PELCO: We believe in the power of the American worker.
PILGRIM: Our feature series, "Made in America."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is a special holiday edition of LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: Good evening.
Tonight a special report on this Thanksgiving, a celebration of the men and women who make this country great, from our troops serving in 120 countries around the world to the hard working people here at home.
In the course of this program, we hope to celebrate this country's greatness with our loved ones overseas. We will bring you the stories of many of our country's heroes, who are serving and have served in Iraq.
But first, we begin tonight with some of the people who are fighting to keep American jobs and know-how in this country.
David McDonald is a CEO of an American company that values its employees. He believes American workers are the most productive in the world. And he's doing everything he can to keep jobs in this country.
Casey Wian reports from Clovis, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who's watching the Statue of Liberty? What about this summer's Republican National Convention or the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece? Security cameras for all three with made by Pelco, a home-grown manufacturing company in central California that's committed to keeping jobs in the United States.
MCDONALD: First we're, I think, unusually patriotic in our mindset. And we believe in the power of the American worker. We have very productive, motivated people who are very efficient at producing our products.
WIAN: Pelco has customers all over the world: Buckingham Palace, the Panama Canal, New York's Central Park. But the company refuses to send its 1,500 U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas in search of cheaper labor.
MCDONALD: Many of those things look good on paper. When you consider the logistics cost, the impact potentially to quality, the scheduling difficulties and other challenges, the little savings that you can generate on paper often go up in smoke in the real world.
WIAN: In fact, by investing in state of the art equipment and unique employee motivation programs, McDonald says it's actually cheaper to manufacture in the United States.
From the American flags on its workers' uniforms and throughout its factories to the September 11 memorials that decorate Pelco's headquarters, here patriotism seems at least as important as profit.
Nine-eleven hit home there, because many of the company's clients, including the Empire State Building, Ellis Island and the New York police and fire departments were at or near Ground Zero.
MCDONALD: We've always had a very, I'd say, special relationship with New York City and many people there that we know. And that tragedy, I think, affected us, therefore, much differently than it might have other people.
WIAN: The realities of a global economy make it necessary for Pelco to buy some foreign-made components, and it does have an international sales and customer service staff.
But the company says the security systems it sells here and abroad will always be made in the USA.
(on camera) While other companies expand overseas, Pelco will soon open its largest plant here, 144,000 square foot, room for 500 new employees.
Casey Wian, CNN, Clovis, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now a growing effort is under way to encourage people in this country to buy American-made products. Now, one group calls itself simply Mad in America.
Lisa Sylvester has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fred Tedesco's company, Pay-Ted, makes springs and small mechanical assemblies for larger companies.
But in the last three years, he's closed three plants and laid off 48 employees after his biggest customers turned to foreign suppliers. Then he got mad, literally, starting a group called Mad in the USA.
FRED TEDESCO, PA-TED SPRING CO.: There's a tremendous number of people, up to, maybe, 17 million in this country, that are underemployed, that either can't find work or can't find full-time work or have had to take a pay much lower than what they were used to. That's not America.
SYLVESTER: Members of Mad in the USA are threatening to boycott companies, including Wal-Mart, that favor foreign suppliers over domestic ones. Pay-Ted has warned its company's insurance carrier, The Hartford Financial Services, that it will pull $200,000 worth of annual business if the financial firm does not stop outsourcing overseas. It's just one of the home-grown movements aimed at keeping production and work in America.
Out of work computer programmers and service workers are also turning up the pressure on Congress, emphasizing how job losses hurt.
JIM SCHOLLAERT, AMTAC: If they can hit these congressmen back in their districts, and their senators back in their states, large groups of CEOs of these small companies can go in with their mayors, with their education officials, their utility people.
SYLVESTER: Companies that outsource overseas have gone on the defense.
The Hartford Financial Services Group says, "Outsourcing gives The Hartford greater flexibility to quickly take on new projects, access diverse skills and better control costs. It also enables our employees to use their skills for more strategic projects."
But business owners like Fred Tedesco say large corporations are missing the point. If Americans can't work for decent wages, they won't be able to afford the products and services the big companies are offering.
(on camera) Some small business owners are breaking away from large lobby groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, and forming their own trade associations, because they say these larger groups represent corporate interests.
The U.S. Chamber of commercial and the National Association of Manufacturers disagree with that assessment, saying the vast majority of their members are mom and pop operations.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: The loss of manufacturing jobs in this country inspired one man to take action. Robert Zimmermaker has made it his personal mission to buy only American-made products. And he says it's easier than you might think.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (voice-over): The American flag outside this house is made in America. So are roughly 90 percent of the items inside.
Robert Zimmermaker, an electrical technician at a major defense company, believes in buying American products. He has a book and a web site urging others to do the same.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAKER, BUYS AMERICAN: If everybody would just change maybe one or two or five buying habits, the positive impact on the U.S. economy would be nothing short of fantastic.
PILGRIM: In his kitchen, we rummage through the fridge.
(on camera) Aquafina.
ZIMMERMAKER: Aquafina is a Pepsi brand of water. If you were to buy Dannon water, for instance, you would be supporting a French brand.
PILGRIM: OK. Kraft.
ZIMMERMAKER: Kraft is an American company. A foreign competitor for Kraft would be Wishbone, which is owned by Unilever.
PILGRIM (voice-over): The pantry. We check labels. Quaker cereal, Arizona tea, Kellogg cereal, Glad Bags, Sweet and Low, all American.
(on camera) And it says right here, "Made in the USA."
ZIMMERMAKER: Right.
PILGRIM (voice-over): In the living room, American furniture and carpet. Harder to do because a lot of furniture is imported from Asia these days.
The garage. The garden tools are American: a Toro lawn mower, Trek 1200 bike, Black & Decker lawn edger.
His family supports his decision. But they make some exceptions. Eleven-year-old Brittani likes all-American skateboard fashions.
BRITTANI ZIMMERMAKER, DAUGHTER: Basically, like, skate companies Hurley, Independent, Dickey, stuff like that.
PILGRIM: Fourteen-year-old Matt has a tough decision when he founds a cool imported shirt.
MATT ZIMMERMAKER, SON: It's made in Mexico or something. So I've got to decide if I want to, like, buy it or just get a different one.
PILGRIM: His wife, Linda, says it takes a lot of work to shop.
LINDA ZIMMERMAKER, WIFE: I was in a store a couple weeks ago, looking at an iron, and I didn't know what it was. So I came home and researched it and went back and made the right decision.
PILGRIM: He has a Lincoln town car with Goodyear tires. It's impossible to buy an all-American car, he says. Most cars use some imported parts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Even Roger admits it's almost impossible to buy American all the time, but each purchase certainly provides an opportunity.
Well, one company's products have been proudly American made for more than a century. W.R. Case and Sons products have been carried into war, the White House and even outer space.
Philippa Holland has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIPPA HOLLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 115 years, W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery Company has been making knives by hand in America, sometimes with generations working side by side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, I cut these slots. Now my job's done, and I hand it up to my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. We're going to fracture and spin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been here 30 years. I met my husband here. He's been here 34 years. My daughter works here with me. She's been here 12 years.
HOLLAND: There's both family and national history at Case. Members of the U.S. military have carried Case knives into every conflict of the past century. One of Case's loyal customers also happened to be a commander in chief, the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
TOM ARROWSMITH, CEO & PRESIDENT, W.R. CASE & SONS: When he had a special guest, he gave them a gift of a Case pocketknife. We've since named the pattern the Eisenhower pattern, and it carries his signature on the blade.
HOLLAND: NASA commissioned a Case knife for its astronauts to carry on the first manned space missions.
Case uses American raw materials in all of its knives. The only exception are exotic materials like mother-of-pearl, not found in the United States.
Buying American is a topic that Arrowsmith frequently faces.
ARROWSMITH: As recently as last week, we had a little medallion that was going into a product. The purchasing people, as they need to, had shopped it a couple of ways. The domestic price was $1.25. The not domestic price was 48 cents. We chose to use the $1.25 part simply because that's how we do things.
HOLLAND: And if anyone at Case needs a reminder of the importance of buying American, they don't have far to look.
ARROWSMITH: Outside our doors is a quarter-of-a-million-square- foot facility that used to manufacture electronic components. I worked in that facility as a production superintendent a number of years ago, and they sold it to another company that has moved everything offshore. But, yes, it's easy for us to see every day, when we leave the parking lot, the effect of outsourcing.
HOLLAND: Losing a job to outsourcing is one experience Arrowsmith promises his nearly 400 employees they will never have.
Philippa Holland, CNN, Bradford, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: In the clothing and textile industry, it's rare to find a brand that's still made in the United States. Hickey Freeman is one example. Every stitch of their fine men's suits are still made in America.
Peter Viles has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When America's best golfers traveled abroad to play in the President's Cup, they wore hand-tailored blazers, not made in Milan, Italy, or London, England, but made back home in this factory in Rochester, New York.
Inside the factory, Hickey Freeman makes fine men's suits that retail $1,200 and up. And here's what's unusual: Hickey Freeman actually believes its factory is a special place. The workers there so well trained, so dedicated to quality that outsourcing is out of the question.
WALTER HICKEY, JR., CHAIRMAN, HICKEY FREEMAN: We've built a business that has been built on a consistency of a quality product. The only way that we think that you can get that is to have direct supervision from our quality people.
VILES: The top supervisor, Italian-born designer Bruno Castagna, says outsourcing work from his factory would be like an orchestra outsourcing the violins.
BRUNO CASTAGNA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HICKEY FREEMAN: Our them is like an orchestra. Each team player got it all to play.
VILES: When Jerry Hickey and Jake Freeman founded the company, the workforce was mainly immigrants. The company taught them to speak English. A hundred years later, tailoring still attracts immigrants.
The plant is unionized. Average pay is $11 an hour. Average work is not accepted. Perfection is our goal. Excellence will be tolerated. Anything less will not. Employees are actually given bonuses for spotting mistakes. Hickey Freeman is old-fashioned.
It buys the world's finest fabrics, mainly from Italy, competes based on quality, not on price, and believes fine clothing can still be made in America.
HICKEY: It gives me a great deal of pride to know that we have, in Rochester, about 800 people, and I'd like to keep it that way. VILES (on camera): In the end, it's not patriotism that keeps Hickey Freeman in New York. It's a business calculation. The company believes its reputation for uncompromising quality is one of its most valuable assets. Moving work offshore would put that asset at risk, and that's a risk that this company is unwilling to take.
Peter Viles, CNN, Rochester, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Still to come tonight, 25 million veterans who serve this country now depend on this country for a tremendous amount of care and support. Some say our current system doesn't do enough. Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi will join us.
And America works. Hardworking people who do ordinary jobs in an extraordinary way and love every minute of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. My name is Jonathan Seth (ph) from Kenduskeag, Maine. I'd like to wish my parents and everybody back in Maine a happy Thanksgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. I'm Private Paul St. Germaine (ph) from Somerset, Massachusetts. I want to say hello to my family and friends back home. I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm Specialist Adam Dukis (ph) from New York, and I'd like to say happy Thanksgiving to my parents back home and friends, and I'd also like to say a happy Thanksgiving to a special friend out in Tacoma, Washington, who is going through a rough time and to stay strong, and I wish I could be there, and I'll see you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Ramos or Agent Ramos (ph). My platoon calls me Doc Ramos (ph). I'm with the 31 Scout Sniper Platoon, and I just want to wish you guys a happy Thanksgiving, merry Christmas and a new year. I wish you guys were home, you know, Be careful out there, take care and just know that we're all still praying for you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: There are more than 25 million veterans living in this country. Millions of dollars have been spent to overhaul the Veterans Affairs Department in the last three-and-a-half years, and yet some veterans say more needs to be done. Lou Dobbs spoke with Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi recently and asked him for his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY PRINCIPI, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: Well, I think we're doing more than ever before. Clearly you can never really fully repay this debt, and as you look at the footage of those young marines in Falluja, you realize what extraordinary sacrifices men and women in uniform are making today and have made throughout our history. But we've treated a million more veterans in our health care system over the past 3 1/2 years. We are modernizing our health care system by building new hospitals where veterans are moving to and we've reduced the backlog of claims dramatically but I'm never satisfied, Lou. We need to do more. And I plan to stay the course.
LOU DOBBS, HOST: And stay the course will mean more money. It will mean a greater commitment. What have you raised the budget now since coming into office? What is that, Mr. Secretary?
PRINCIPI: It's pretty dramatic, Lou. When I became secretary under President Bush my budget was $48 billion. Today it's close to $65 billion, going up to around $70, a little bit more than $70 billion in 2005 as soon as Congress passes the appropriation bill. So we've increased health care alone by over 40 percent and the overall budget has increased by a third. The largest dollar increase in the history of my department which goes back about 75 years. The demand for health care is great. The demand for benefits is great. And we need to continue to get the resources we need to get the job done.
DOBBS: The clinics that you're putting together, more than 100 around the country, the two VA hospitals that you're building. When is that all going to be completed?
PRINCIPI: Well, we have a seven-year modernization plan. We have 856 out-patient clinics today. We had virtually none just about ten years ago. And we're going to open up another 156 over the next several years but it's a seven-year plan. It's going to cost in the neighborhood of $1 billion a year to do the things that need to be done, to bring our health care system into the 21st century and not the century gone by.
DOBBS: And for those veterans who are watching the secretary of veterans affairs tonight on this Veterans Day, men and women who have served in Vietnam, who have served in conflicts around the world, can they turn to the VA hospitals, to the VA clinics and facilities, and be assured of care tonight?
PRINCIPI: Yes, they can be. They can go online, WWW.VA.GOV to learn about all of the benefits they've earned especially those coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. They can contact their nearest VA medical center or clinic or regional office to get themselves enrolled. We're concentrating on the disabled and we're concentrating on the poor who have few if any other options for health care in this country. So that's our drive. To take care of those who need the health care and as high a quality as possible.
DOBBS: Anthony Principi, secretary of veterans affairs. Thank you for being with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: One veteran wounded in Iraq is dedicating his time to helping other veterans. Robert B.J. Jackson of the Iowa National Guard was wounded serving in Iraq last August. Although that ended his military career, it did not stop him from beginning a brand-new mission.
Casey Wian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): It's an Iowa National Guard barbecue, and B.J. Jackson is working the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: B.J. Jackson is raising money for an organization called the Salute American Heroes. Everybody pay a visit to B.J. over here.
WIAN: The hugs and handshakes for a hometown hero come from the heart.
ROBERT B.J. JACKSON, IOWA NATIONAL GUARD: They do great things here. They really support their troops.
WIAN: The crowd knows Jackson's story is as remarkable as his stature. He was 6'4" when his vehicle hit a land mine in Baghdad in August 2003, blasting off the lower part of his legs. With prosthetic limbs, he's now 6'7." That he survived at all is amazing.
JACKSON: I suffered burns to my arm, my hand, my face, my head, the small of my back and my legs for a four-and-a-half hour fight. Then they got me out, took about 45 minutes to get me out of that area to a safe zone and then took about 30 minutes to get me out of the burning vehicle.
WIAN: Jackson was sedated for a month and a half and has no memory of the blast. But, when he woke up, he knew that with a wife and two young daughters, he had to walk again.
JACKSON: My big thing was getting in the water because I was teaching my daughters how to swim before I left.
WIAN: Surprisingly, Jackson says his life hasn't changed all that much.
JACKSON: I live a normal life. I mean, I went skiing 30 days after I got my third set of legs I could actually walk in. I go swimming all the time now, at least once every two weeks.
WIAN: Reaching out and getting support for other veterans is Jackson's mission now.
JACKSON: This organization is doing a lot of great things. It's just started, and -- well, our first meeting was in May. WIAN: Jackson will travel through Iowa and the country in the next year as a spokesman for Salute America's Heroes. He wants every veteran to feel the gratitude and support that Iowans have given to him.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: You can find more information about Salute America's Heroes at saluteheroes.org.
Coming up, giving thanks to the troops on this Thanksgiving. General David Grange joins us to talk about how troops overseas are celebrating today.
And the inventions and the innovators who changed America forever and for the better. A look at 200 years of creativity and ingenuity. Sir Harold Evans, author of the new book "They Made America" will be our best guest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Staff Sergeant Wilson, Alpha Company 411, Engineer Combat Battalion, currently serving in Iraq. Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. I miss all of you. I ask that you have a happy, happy Thanksgiving. Keep an open heart. Get down and be blessed Thanksgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Corporal Eli Cook (ph), 235 Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. I want to say happy holidays to all the soldiers back in Afghanistan, and we haven't forgotten about you, especially A.T. Platoon (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: We continue with a special holiday edition of LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Here now, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: General David Grange served this country all over the world for three decades, and, tonight, he joins us to talk about what is a very special day for the hundreds of thousands of American troops away from home.
General Grange, thanks for joining us.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.
PILGRIM: How much of a fuss does the military make on Thanksgiving? How big a holiday is it for the troops overseas?
GRANGE: Well, this is a big day. It's very important to all American G.I.s all over the world, both at home and abroad. You're going to see throughout the day different levels of activities. It may be that you have hundreds of soldiers in one location to eat a very spectacular meal. And a lot of the military cooks are quite good. Or you may just see two G.I.s huddled around a small cook fire in the middle of the desert or the jungle or in the rain celebrating amongst themselves.
PILGRIM: Last year, we had a surprise visit by President Bush. How special was that for the troops?
GRANGE: Anytime someone like the president, secretary of defense, congressional delegation, senior military officers from one's own service visits on a day like today, it has -- it's a big deal for morale. Troops appreciate it, and it's also a custom. It's a custom historically throughout the armed forces.
PILGRIM: You must have spent many a Thanksgiving away from your family in your 30 years of service. It's very hard for families, who may be watching this program today, to be away from their sons and daughters who are overseas in combat or in service. Is there anything to say to them that could give them some kind of comfort?
GRANGE: Sure. I mean, they know that the hearts of fellow Americans, of their immediate family are with them, no matter where they're stationed overseas.
I missed quite a few Thanksgivings myself, and it's tough. It's a time of year similar to Christmas where you really want to be at home. But they also have their own home. They have their own home with the G.I.s they're with in harm's way or just stationed at an outpost overseas in a remote area somewhere in the world.
And they know that the Americans care, and they feel very proud of the duty that they're conducting abroad even on a day like today.
PILGRIM: It's such a family holiday. Do you bond with the people around you and make a new family perhaps?
GRANGE: Absolutely. I mean, a bonding is exceptional. You spend a lot of time together in places like mess halls where you can get in and out of the field and have a fabulous meal, or even in a bombed out building like a place like Falluja, sharing a meal ready to eat with a companion that you just were in harm's way with. So yes, it's very important. And bonding is exceptional on a day like today.
PILGRIM: Well, General Grange, I know you will join us and all of us here at LOU DOBBS TONIGHT in wishing our troops all over the world a very happy Thanksgiving. And thanks for sharing it with us, General Grange.
GRANGE: Thank you.
PILGRIM: There is some 130,000 American troops currently serving in Iraq, and they are all heroes. Tonight, we take a moment to recognize just a few of the men and women who have shown extraordinary courage on the field of battle. Bill Tucker and Casey Wian report on two remarkable groups of Marines. And we begin with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three Camp Pendleton Marines are honored for bravery and heroism in combat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president was United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy cross to Sergeant Marco A. Martinez.
TUCKER: Martinez took charge during a fierce firefight at the battle of Aktarmea (ph), north of Baghdad on April 12th, 2003. He single-handedly stormed a building, killing four Saddam fedayeen fighters. Fighting in the same battle, Staff Sergeant Adam Sikes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the squads in position, Staff Sergeant Sikes charged alone across 70 meters of fire swept ground to close on the first enemy strong point.
TUCKER: Sikes then went on to save fellow Marines while enemy fire rained down. For his heroism, the Secretary of the Navy Gordon England presented the silver star. Also receiving a silver star, Corporal Timothy Tartiff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corporal Tartiff charged across a road under intense small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire, inspiring his Marines to follow his example.
TUCKER: Corporal Tartiff was injured taking shrapnel from an enemy grenade.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Refusing to be evacuated and disregarding his wounds, Corporal Tartiff gallantly led his squad in an assault on an enemy-held compound.
TUCKER: It's not the first time these Marines been honored. The 1st Expeditionary Marine Force received the military's highest group award for heroism. Since then, many have trained and been deployed again. And many will never come home. The memory of their fallen comrades tempers the mood on this day of celebration.
Bill Tucker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now Casey Wian on another remarkable group of Marines from 29 Palms, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): First Lieutenant Brian Chontosh's Marine platoon was ambushed by Iraqis, firing mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and machine guns. Trapped, Chontosh ordered his driver Lance Corporal Armand Mccormack to turn directly into a heavily armed enemy trench. Their machine gunner bought them a few seconds. Then Chontosh, Mccormack and Lance Corporal Robert Kerrmin (ph) came out firing with small arms and pistols and quickly ran out of ammunition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First Lieutenant Chontosh with complete disregard for his safety twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack. When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others.
LANCE CPL. ARMAND MCCORMACK, U.S. MARINE CORPS: To tell you the truth, I can't even remember what I was feeling. It was just second nature to pick up enemy rifles.
CAPT. BRIAN CHONTOSH, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Just reacting to the good training that we have, true compassion and love for the Marines in the battalion. It was a job that needed to get done, just went and did it.
WIAN: General Michael Hagey, commandant of the Marine Corps, awarded Chontosh the Navy cross for extraordinary heroism. And the two corporals the silver star, the Corps' second and third highest honors. Also receiving a Navy cross for a different battle, Lance Corporal Joseph Perez. He was shot in the shoulder and torso, yet continued to lead his squad, which destroyed an enemy position.
LANCE CPL. JOSEPH PEREZ, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I'm not really big on getting awards and stuff like that. But you know, I just feel like the award that I'm getting reflects, you know, the job of all the Marines that serve with me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much for what you're doing and also for what you're about to do.
WIAN: To underscore that, Marines headed from the awards ceremony directly to a grueling live-fire training exercise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!
WIAN: It prepares them for battles they may soon face, some very soon.
Casey Wian, CNN, 29 Palms, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Coming up, they made America, the innovators and inventors who built this country. Sir Harold Evans is the author of a new book that honors their contribution. He will join us.
And some of the men and women do ordinary work in an extraordinary way. We'll share some of their stories and some of your thoughts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SGT. SHAWN FIDDLER: Hi, I'm Staff Sergeant Shawn Fiddler from Jessup, Georgia. I'd just like to take a chance and say hi to my parents. I miss you guys a bunch. Thanks for all your support and have a great Thanksgiving.
JOSHUA ROOF: Hi, my name is Joshua Roof from Fredericksburg, Virginia. I'm spending the holidays here in beautiful scenic Iraq. I'd like to send a holiday wish to my mom and dad back home and the rest of my family and also my friends there as well. Have a happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you all soon.
ANDREW SIBLEY: Hi, I'm Andrew Sibley. I'd like to say hello to my wife Jennifer, my boys back home. I love you guys. Happy Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: The new book looks at the truly remarkable history of American innovators and how their inventions forever changed our country and the world. Lou Dobbs recently spoke with Sir Harold Evans, author of "They Made America: Two Centuries of Innovators from the Steam Engine to the Search Engine."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIR HAROLD EVANS, AUTHOR, "THEY MADE AMERICA": Nobody has ever done 200 years of American business history enterprise.
DOBBS: Right.
EVANS: We have thousands and thousands of books about the founding fathers' pursuit of liberty, happiness, etcetera and nothing about the men who delivered the goods, the innovators.
DOBBS: I want to show -- I just -- there was one quote I read, and it's so short, it's hardly worth putting up, but I'm going to ask you to do so. Do we have that up on a graphic? If I can ask for that. And this from Elisha Otis. "Machines, the tools of liberty," which I thought was terrific.
EVANS: Absolutely fantastic. And we found that in his sketches of elevators. Every elevator was...
DOBBS: Beautiful sketches, by the way.
EVANS: Oh, gorgeous. Well, Robert Fulton, the same. Beautiful sketches for the steamboat. And you find -- what I think fascinates me about these innovators, apart from having really colorful lives is they had strong moral values. These innovators very often dedicated themselves to improving mankind. And they've been short-changed by historians and schools and educators and the popular culture.
DOBBS: You also have a vignette, if I may, about Ted Turner as one of those whose innovations have changed the world.
EVANS: I love Ted Turner's attitude. He says if you have a great idea and 90 percent of the people say it's not a great idea, you may not have a great idea, but I went ahead anyway. So I just...
DOBBS: That's a very good impression.
EVANS: ...I just -- Ted Turner is one of those stars. I came to see Ted Turner in 1982 when I was director of Bill Crist Films in television. Every network told me, "Don't bother, he's crazy."
DOBBS: Right.
EVANS: And I went to see him. And he wasn't crazy, not really.
DOBBS: Crazy sometimes keeps people from going insane, as Jimmy Buffett would have it. Also, McLean, you point out in "Knock McLean" in bringing globalization ahead, containerized shipping.
EVANS: Malcolm McLean is a trucker from North Carolina. And he sat on the dock in the '30s and watched these piecemeal efforts to load a vessel. Now innovation was staring everybody in the face, but he was the only one to see it and exploit it. Globalization, thousands of jobs created by Malcolm McLean.
DOBBS: And one of those stories which has not a perfect ending.
EVANS: No. He got -- he went broke in the end, but he went broke trying something...
DOBBS: Doing the right thing.
EVANS: ...yes. And some people took their own lives. The point is they enriched our own lives today.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Again, it's just a wonderful book. One of the things I thought about with McLean and the number of others in your book, great inspiration, innovation. But today the United States doesn't own a single shipping line. And it's really a statement about that globalization issue. We need to get completive in the very, very most urgent way.
Bill Evans, thank you very much.
EVANS: Thank you very much.
DOBBS: Good to have you here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Coming up, two people who exemplify the spirit of the American worker. They do work many of us might take for granted. And they do it with pride. Their stories and much more still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. MICHAEL CALLAHAN MCCANN: Hi, my name is Sergeant First Class Michael Callahan Mccann from Everett, Washington. I'd like to wish my wife, Tonya, my kids Caitlin, Mikela and Kiernan a happy Thanksgiving. And I love you, honey. And happy Thanksgiving to all my family out there.
SGT. WESLEY WARD: Hi, I'm Sergeant Wesley Ward. I'd like to send a special hello out to all the families of Bravo Company 15 Infantry 1st Platoon. A special hello to the wives of 3rd squad, Loulou, Gloria, Nikki, Chrissi, and especially my wife, Regina. I love you and I miss you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: In our feature series "America Works," we celebrate the men and women who really run this country. They are hard-working people who do ordinary jobs in an extraordinary way.
Tonight, we introduce you to a woman who's been making people feel at home away from home for nearly 30 years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (voice-over): Carol Romney starts her day at 6:00 a.m. with a steady hum of dryers and the scent of fresh laundry. The sheets sometimes pile up so high, they are nearly over her head.
CAROL ROMNEY, WARWICH HOTELS EMPLOYEE: We have, like, 219 rooms. And we have to re-sheet the beds. So you've got a lot of linen coming down.
PILGRIM: Washers to load, sheets to fold, it's physically demanding, hard on the feet. With dryers loaded, she takes a mid- morning smoke break on the hotel roof. There she tells us how much she loves the job she has held for nearly three decades. Over that time, the hotel has changed ownership several times. Every time, she worries about job security.
ROMNEY: What they do, they fire everybody. And then they'll make everybody refill out another application, but they always rehired us back anyways.
PILGRIM: When asked about job competition from new immigrants, Carol is hesitant to criticize.
ROMNEY: They're good workers. Don't get me wrong, they are good workers. But there's a lot of people in the United States that also needs a job, too.
PILGRIM: She started at $1.50 an hour and now makes $10 an hour. She worries new workers would be willing to work for less.
ROMNEY: They would hire the other people because they would have lower income -- I mean not income, but wages. And they could let me go anytime.
PILGRIM: There are plenty of Americans working at the hotel.
(on camera): The Warwick Hotel has 150 employees. Only four percent have green cards.
(voice-over): And there are no illegal workers. General Manager John Wagner says he has absolutely no problem filling the jobs with legal American workers.
JOHN WAGNER, WARWICK HOTEL GENERAL MANAGER: We have a number of -- plenty of people, actually, that have legal status and can work. Not to say that we don't have people that come in without papers or proper papers to apply. But we have had not had any problem filling our positions right now.
PILGRIM: And he has high praise for Carol.
WAGNER: You can count on her. She's here every day, on time. Those are really the day in and day out consistencies we like to see.
PILGRIM: Day in, day out for nearly 30 years.
ROMNEY: There we are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Another great example of what makes America work, Robin Saucedo. Now he has spent nearly 20 years cleaning up the city of Santa Ana, California. And now it's become something of a family tradition.
Casey Wian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): Robin Saucedo's morning begins before 4:00 with good-byes to his sleeping family.
ROBIN SAUCEDO, TRASH COLLECTOR: See you.
WIAN: Then it's off to work as a trash hauler. He started at 18 with seven years of lifting residential garbage cans. Now 37, his route is commercial.
SAUCEDO: You've got to put your time in and, you know, virtually you'll get your turn.
WIAN: After safety checks on his truck by 5:00, he begins his jam packed route.
SAUCEDO: The toughest part is when you're out there, and you have to roll these bins 200 feet, 150 feet. That gets -- after a while, that gets -- it gets -- you get tired.
WIAN: Try keeping up with Saucedo for a day if you want to appreciate your job. Besides the physical challenges and smell, Saucedo has to dodge cars, power lines, even people.
SAUCEDO: A lot of homeless people, they like to sleep in the containers. Since the whole time I've been here out of 18 years, I've dumped one homeless person in there. And he had hurt his arm really bad.
WIAN: One of Saucedo's newest tools is a digital camera for photographing overflowing bins. The customer gets a copy and a letter. Once the truck's full, it's off to the landfill or the recycling station.
(on camera): It's only 11:00 in the morning, and Saucedo has already made more than 70 stops, picked up more than 100 containers, and dumped two full truckloads of garbage.
(voice-over): Most days lunch is in the truck. With overtime and a half day on Saturday, Saucedo earns about $50,000 a year.
SAUCEDO: I get pay for what I do.
WIAN: His father Marcos has been a waste management trash hauler for 33 years.
SAUCEDO: I just had a baby, and I was looking for something stable. So my father had, you know, just told me, why don't you try it out? I said, I'll try it out for about a year.
WIAN: Eighteen years later, another workday ends after 116 stops.
SAUCEDO: I'm back. How was your day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
SAUCEDO: OK?
WIAN: Saucedo comes home to wife, Michelle, a school bus driver, grown daughter, Stephanie, and 6-year-old son, Manuel, who wants to drive a trash truck, too.
SAUCEDO: I think my son would make a good living at it.
WIAN: That would make three generations of proud trash haulers.
Casey Wian, CNN, Santa Ana, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Tonight's thought is on work. Far and away, the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Those words from President Theodore Roosevelt.
Coming up, we'll have some of your thoughts on jobs, including some ideas on what Americans can do to earn a living.
And as we go to commercial, we celebrate the great legacy of America's workers over the last century.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SGT. DAMIEN WALKER: Hi, my name is Sergeant Damien Walker. I'm from Fort Lewis, Washington, here at Fabmoraz (ph) in Iraq. I want to say hello to my wife Candace and my friends and family back in Tacoma, Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bravo Company 15 Infantry. I just want to say happy Thanksgiving to my kids, Mia and Jay. Daddy wishes he could be with you. And I want to wish a speedy recovery to Staff Sergeant Smith. He's in a hospital right now. See you soon. Happy Thanksgiving to his family. And happy Thanksgiving, Mom, Dad and Brandy. Love you.
JOSHUA LARSON: Hi, this is Joshua Larson from Mosul, Iraq. I want to say happy Thanksgiving to my friends and family at home, my mother, my father, and my sister. I love you guys. And I'll come home safely some day. And I just wish you a happy Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Many of you have written in about job losses and the exporting of America. Cody Vega of Kingsville, Texas, writes, "The great industrialist Harvey Samuel Firestone once said: 'Give the American worker a good job and we'll have the greatest industrialized nation in the world. With his good wages he will buy his own home, his own car, his own everyday needs....But without a job, it won't do a bit of good. No income -- no purchases."
R.J. from Gainesville, Missouri writes, "Seems funny that whenever a corporation wants to save money, they layoff workers or cut benefits, except when it comes to upper management, then money is no object for perks, benefits, and salaries. Guess that's why executive pay went up 8 percent and the lower payrolls went down 3 percent."
Andrew from Aberdeen, Maryland writes, "I suggest that those individuals currently out of work look into either nursing or teaching. These are jobs you can be proud of and which are desperately needed today. Trade the forklift for hearts and minds."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com.
Still ahead, it's been 30 years, and he's still enjoying the ride. Meet the man who keeps one of America's favorite playgrounds running smoothly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Finally tonight, we feature a man who has proudly worked at one of the most famous vacation venues in this country. Gary Mendetto has worked at New York's Coney Island for more than 30 years. And he says it's been quite a ride.
Bill Tucker has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TUCKER (voice-over): For 77 years, it stood on Coney Island, a mecca to thrill-seekers, the Coney Island cyclone, one-half mile of wooden roller coaster glory. 12 drops, 16 changes of direction...
GARY MENDETTO: At its fastest, I'd say it's about 55.
TUCKER: And all original equipment maintained by this man, Jerry Mendetto.
MENDETTO: the track has to be walked from start to finish. Another guy comes in with a helper, and they go over the whole car that worked the day before. All the seats are taken out. Everything is checked underneath and then put back together. And then we send it for a test run.
TUCKER: It all comes down to gravity and the control of force.
MENDETTO: This wheel here is what keeps you from going off the track. There's a lip that comes out. We call it the cap, that these wheels ride on that keeps you down. These are your running wheels up here. That's what keeps you going.
TUCKER: But the cyclone is not a ride as much as it seems to be a devotion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great. It's awesome. It's fun. It's exhilarating.
MENDETTO: You'd be surprised how many people that got 20 years on me, and I'm 60, that come up here as excited as those children. Sometimes you have people, they argue over the front seat. And sometimes it goes into a fight, because I was here first. You were here first. Kid stuff, but adults are the worst. The adults, they act like children.
TUCKER: Really?
MENDETTO: Oh, forget about it. And women. Women, for some reason, they can get their husbands in a lot of trouble over that front seat.
TUCKER (on camera): For over three-quarters of a century, the Cyclone has set the standard for many in terms of rollercoaster rides. How long will it survive? Well, as long as Jerry's around to maintain it. And there are a lot of adrenaline addicts in search of a cheap thrill. This ride is safe.
(voice-over): Wait. Did I mention that in all of his 30 years, Jerry has never once ridden the Cyclone?
(on camera): Bill Tucker, CNN, Coney Island, New York!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Thanks for joining us tonight. For all of us here, have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Good night from New York. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 25, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right after a look at what's happening right now in the news.
And good evening. I'm Carol Lin. Just ahead, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. But first, these are the stories making news right now.
U.S. troops around the world are enjoying an American tradition: turkey with all the trimmings. Thanksgiving dinner was dished up for soldiers in Mosul, Iraq, today.
And elsewhere in Iraq, Marines in Falluja got their first hot meal in weeks, not just turkey but also beef, pork and plenty of extras.
Nobody injured, but plenty of people inconvenienced. A rock slide, quite a serious one, too, closed off a stretch of Interstate 70 near Vail, Colorado, this morning. Some of those rocks that tumbled down were eight to 10 feet in diameter. Work crews are using dynamite and jackhammers, and it could be a week before that road is clear.
Those are the headlines this hour. LOU DOBBS TONIGHT begins right now. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, on Thanksgiving Day, a salute to heroes, the men and women who risk their lives in defense of democracy and the American way of life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The job needed to be done. Just went and did it.
PILGRIM: We'll have their stories, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi will join us.
Then, "America Works." We pay tribute to some of the hardworking men and women who make this country work, from the innovators who built America to the everyday heroes who keep it running.
And, "Made in America," the corporations and small business owners who fight every day to keep American jobs and know-how in this country.
DAVID MCDONALD, PRESIDENT & CEO, PELCO: We believe in the power of the American worker.
PILGRIM: Our feature series, "Made in America."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is a special holiday edition of LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: Good evening.
Tonight a special report on this Thanksgiving, a celebration of the men and women who make this country great, from our troops serving in 120 countries around the world to the hard working people here at home.
In the course of this program, we hope to celebrate this country's greatness with our loved ones overseas. We will bring you the stories of many of our country's heroes, who are serving and have served in Iraq.
But first, we begin tonight with some of the people who are fighting to keep American jobs and know-how in this country.
David McDonald is a CEO of an American company that values its employees. He believes American workers are the most productive in the world. And he's doing everything he can to keep jobs in this country.
Casey Wian reports from Clovis, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who's watching the Statue of Liberty? What about this summer's Republican National Convention or the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece? Security cameras for all three with made by Pelco, a home-grown manufacturing company in central California that's committed to keeping jobs in the United States.
MCDONALD: First we're, I think, unusually patriotic in our mindset. And we believe in the power of the American worker. We have very productive, motivated people who are very efficient at producing our products.
WIAN: Pelco has customers all over the world: Buckingham Palace, the Panama Canal, New York's Central Park. But the company refuses to send its 1,500 U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas in search of cheaper labor.
MCDONALD: Many of those things look good on paper. When you consider the logistics cost, the impact potentially to quality, the scheduling difficulties and other challenges, the little savings that you can generate on paper often go up in smoke in the real world.
WIAN: In fact, by investing in state of the art equipment and unique employee motivation programs, McDonald says it's actually cheaper to manufacture in the United States.
From the American flags on its workers' uniforms and throughout its factories to the September 11 memorials that decorate Pelco's headquarters, here patriotism seems at least as important as profit.
Nine-eleven hit home there, because many of the company's clients, including the Empire State Building, Ellis Island and the New York police and fire departments were at or near Ground Zero.
MCDONALD: We've always had a very, I'd say, special relationship with New York City and many people there that we know. And that tragedy, I think, affected us, therefore, much differently than it might have other people.
WIAN: The realities of a global economy make it necessary for Pelco to buy some foreign-made components, and it does have an international sales and customer service staff.
But the company says the security systems it sells here and abroad will always be made in the USA.
(on camera) While other companies expand overseas, Pelco will soon open its largest plant here, 144,000 square foot, room for 500 new employees.
Casey Wian, CNN, Clovis, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now a growing effort is under way to encourage people in this country to buy American-made products. Now, one group calls itself simply Mad in America.
Lisa Sylvester has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fred Tedesco's company, Pay-Ted, makes springs and small mechanical assemblies for larger companies.
But in the last three years, he's closed three plants and laid off 48 employees after his biggest customers turned to foreign suppliers. Then he got mad, literally, starting a group called Mad in the USA.
FRED TEDESCO, PA-TED SPRING CO.: There's a tremendous number of people, up to, maybe, 17 million in this country, that are underemployed, that either can't find work or can't find full-time work or have had to take a pay much lower than what they were used to. That's not America.
SYLVESTER: Members of Mad in the USA are threatening to boycott companies, including Wal-Mart, that favor foreign suppliers over domestic ones. Pay-Ted has warned its company's insurance carrier, The Hartford Financial Services, that it will pull $200,000 worth of annual business if the financial firm does not stop outsourcing overseas. It's just one of the home-grown movements aimed at keeping production and work in America.
Out of work computer programmers and service workers are also turning up the pressure on Congress, emphasizing how job losses hurt.
JIM SCHOLLAERT, AMTAC: If they can hit these congressmen back in their districts, and their senators back in their states, large groups of CEOs of these small companies can go in with their mayors, with their education officials, their utility people.
SYLVESTER: Companies that outsource overseas have gone on the defense.
The Hartford Financial Services Group says, "Outsourcing gives The Hartford greater flexibility to quickly take on new projects, access diverse skills and better control costs. It also enables our employees to use their skills for more strategic projects."
But business owners like Fred Tedesco say large corporations are missing the point. If Americans can't work for decent wages, they won't be able to afford the products and services the big companies are offering.
(on camera) Some small business owners are breaking away from large lobby groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, and forming their own trade associations, because they say these larger groups represent corporate interests.
The U.S. Chamber of commercial and the National Association of Manufacturers disagree with that assessment, saying the vast majority of their members are mom and pop operations.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: The loss of manufacturing jobs in this country inspired one man to take action. Robert Zimmermaker has made it his personal mission to buy only American-made products. And he says it's easier than you might think.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (voice-over): The American flag outside this house is made in America. So are roughly 90 percent of the items inside.
Robert Zimmermaker, an electrical technician at a major defense company, believes in buying American products. He has a book and a web site urging others to do the same.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAKER, BUYS AMERICAN: If everybody would just change maybe one or two or five buying habits, the positive impact on the U.S. economy would be nothing short of fantastic.
PILGRIM: In his kitchen, we rummage through the fridge.
(on camera) Aquafina.
ZIMMERMAKER: Aquafina is a Pepsi brand of water. If you were to buy Dannon water, for instance, you would be supporting a French brand.
PILGRIM: OK. Kraft.
ZIMMERMAKER: Kraft is an American company. A foreign competitor for Kraft would be Wishbone, which is owned by Unilever.
PILGRIM (voice-over): The pantry. We check labels. Quaker cereal, Arizona tea, Kellogg cereal, Glad Bags, Sweet and Low, all American.
(on camera) And it says right here, "Made in the USA."
ZIMMERMAKER: Right.
PILGRIM (voice-over): In the living room, American furniture and carpet. Harder to do because a lot of furniture is imported from Asia these days.
The garage. The garden tools are American: a Toro lawn mower, Trek 1200 bike, Black & Decker lawn edger.
His family supports his decision. But they make some exceptions. Eleven-year-old Brittani likes all-American skateboard fashions.
BRITTANI ZIMMERMAKER, DAUGHTER: Basically, like, skate companies Hurley, Independent, Dickey, stuff like that.
PILGRIM: Fourteen-year-old Matt has a tough decision when he founds a cool imported shirt.
MATT ZIMMERMAKER, SON: It's made in Mexico or something. So I've got to decide if I want to, like, buy it or just get a different one.
PILGRIM: His wife, Linda, says it takes a lot of work to shop.
LINDA ZIMMERMAKER, WIFE: I was in a store a couple weeks ago, looking at an iron, and I didn't know what it was. So I came home and researched it and went back and made the right decision.
PILGRIM: He has a Lincoln town car with Goodyear tires. It's impossible to buy an all-American car, he says. Most cars use some imported parts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Even Roger admits it's almost impossible to buy American all the time, but each purchase certainly provides an opportunity.
Well, one company's products have been proudly American made for more than a century. W.R. Case and Sons products have been carried into war, the White House and even outer space.
Philippa Holland has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIPPA HOLLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 115 years, W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery Company has been making knives by hand in America, sometimes with generations working side by side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, I cut these slots. Now my job's done, and I hand it up to my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. We're going to fracture and spin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been here 30 years. I met my husband here. He's been here 34 years. My daughter works here with me. She's been here 12 years.
HOLLAND: There's both family and national history at Case. Members of the U.S. military have carried Case knives into every conflict of the past century. One of Case's loyal customers also happened to be a commander in chief, the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
TOM ARROWSMITH, CEO & PRESIDENT, W.R. CASE & SONS: When he had a special guest, he gave them a gift of a Case pocketknife. We've since named the pattern the Eisenhower pattern, and it carries his signature on the blade.
HOLLAND: NASA commissioned a Case knife for its astronauts to carry on the first manned space missions.
Case uses American raw materials in all of its knives. The only exception are exotic materials like mother-of-pearl, not found in the United States.
Buying American is a topic that Arrowsmith frequently faces.
ARROWSMITH: As recently as last week, we had a little medallion that was going into a product. The purchasing people, as they need to, had shopped it a couple of ways. The domestic price was $1.25. The not domestic price was 48 cents. We chose to use the $1.25 part simply because that's how we do things.
HOLLAND: And if anyone at Case needs a reminder of the importance of buying American, they don't have far to look.
ARROWSMITH: Outside our doors is a quarter-of-a-million-square- foot facility that used to manufacture electronic components. I worked in that facility as a production superintendent a number of years ago, and they sold it to another company that has moved everything offshore. But, yes, it's easy for us to see every day, when we leave the parking lot, the effect of outsourcing.
HOLLAND: Losing a job to outsourcing is one experience Arrowsmith promises his nearly 400 employees they will never have.
Philippa Holland, CNN, Bradford, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: In the clothing and textile industry, it's rare to find a brand that's still made in the United States. Hickey Freeman is one example. Every stitch of their fine men's suits are still made in America.
Peter Viles has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When America's best golfers traveled abroad to play in the President's Cup, they wore hand-tailored blazers, not made in Milan, Italy, or London, England, but made back home in this factory in Rochester, New York.
Inside the factory, Hickey Freeman makes fine men's suits that retail $1,200 and up. And here's what's unusual: Hickey Freeman actually believes its factory is a special place. The workers there so well trained, so dedicated to quality that outsourcing is out of the question.
WALTER HICKEY, JR., CHAIRMAN, HICKEY FREEMAN: We've built a business that has been built on a consistency of a quality product. The only way that we think that you can get that is to have direct supervision from our quality people.
VILES: The top supervisor, Italian-born designer Bruno Castagna, says outsourcing work from his factory would be like an orchestra outsourcing the violins.
BRUNO CASTAGNA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HICKEY FREEMAN: Our them is like an orchestra. Each team player got it all to play.
VILES: When Jerry Hickey and Jake Freeman founded the company, the workforce was mainly immigrants. The company taught them to speak English. A hundred years later, tailoring still attracts immigrants.
The plant is unionized. Average pay is $11 an hour. Average work is not accepted. Perfection is our goal. Excellence will be tolerated. Anything less will not. Employees are actually given bonuses for spotting mistakes. Hickey Freeman is old-fashioned.
It buys the world's finest fabrics, mainly from Italy, competes based on quality, not on price, and believes fine clothing can still be made in America.
HICKEY: It gives me a great deal of pride to know that we have, in Rochester, about 800 people, and I'd like to keep it that way. VILES (on camera): In the end, it's not patriotism that keeps Hickey Freeman in New York. It's a business calculation. The company believes its reputation for uncompromising quality is one of its most valuable assets. Moving work offshore would put that asset at risk, and that's a risk that this company is unwilling to take.
Peter Viles, CNN, Rochester, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Still to come tonight, 25 million veterans who serve this country now depend on this country for a tremendous amount of care and support. Some say our current system doesn't do enough. Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi will join us.
And America works. Hardworking people who do ordinary jobs in an extraordinary way and love every minute of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. My name is Jonathan Seth (ph) from Kenduskeag, Maine. I'd like to wish my parents and everybody back in Maine a happy Thanksgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. I'm Private Paul St. Germaine (ph) from Somerset, Massachusetts. I want to say hello to my family and friends back home. I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm Specialist Adam Dukis (ph) from New York, and I'd like to say happy Thanksgiving to my parents back home and friends, and I'd also like to say a happy Thanksgiving to a special friend out in Tacoma, Washington, who is going through a rough time and to stay strong, and I wish I could be there, and I'll see you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Ramos or Agent Ramos (ph). My platoon calls me Doc Ramos (ph). I'm with the 31 Scout Sniper Platoon, and I just want to wish you guys a happy Thanksgiving, merry Christmas and a new year. I wish you guys were home, you know, Be careful out there, take care and just know that we're all still praying for you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: There are more than 25 million veterans living in this country. Millions of dollars have been spent to overhaul the Veterans Affairs Department in the last three-and-a-half years, and yet some veterans say more needs to be done. Lou Dobbs spoke with Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi recently and asked him for his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY PRINCIPI, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: Well, I think we're doing more than ever before. Clearly you can never really fully repay this debt, and as you look at the footage of those young marines in Falluja, you realize what extraordinary sacrifices men and women in uniform are making today and have made throughout our history. But we've treated a million more veterans in our health care system over the past 3 1/2 years. We are modernizing our health care system by building new hospitals where veterans are moving to and we've reduced the backlog of claims dramatically but I'm never satisfied, Lou. We need to do more. And I plan to stay the course.
LOU DOBBS, HOST: And stay the course will mean more money. It will mean a greater commitment. What have you raised the budget now since coming into office? What is that, Mr. Secretary?
PRINCIPI: It's pretty dramatic, Lou. When I became secretary under President Bush my budget was $48 billion. Today it's close to $65 billion, going up to around $70, a little bit more than $70 billion in 2005 as soon as Congress passes the appropriation bill. So we've increased health care alone by over 40 percent and the overall budget has increased by a third. The largest dollar increase in the history of my department which goes back about 75 years. The demand for health care is great. The demand for benefits is great. And we need to continue to get the resources we need to get the job done.
DOBBS: The clinics that you're putting together, more than 100 around the country, the two VA hospitals that you're building. When is that all going to be completed?
PRINCIPI: Well, we have a seven-year modernization plan. We have 856 out-patient clinics today. We had virtually none just about ten years ago. And we're going to open up another 156 over the next several years but it's a seven-year plan. It's going to cost in the neighborhood of $1 billion a year to do the things that need to be done, to bring our health care system into the 21st century and not the century gone by.
DOBBS: And for those veterans who are watching the secretary of veterans affairs tonight on this Veterans Day, men and women who have served in Vietnam, who have served in conflicts around the world, can they turn to the VA hospitals, to the VA clinics and facilities, and be assured of care tonight?
PRINCIPI: Yes, they can be. They can go online, WWW.VA.GOV to learn about all of the benefits they've earned especially those coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. They can contact their nearest VA medical center or clinic or regional office to get themselves enrolled. We're concentrating on the disabled and we're concentrating on the poor who have few if any other options for health care in this country. So that's our drive. To take care of those who need the health care and as high a quality as possible.
DOBBS: Anthony Principi, secretary of veterans affairs. Thank you for being with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: One veteran wounded in Iraq is dedicating his time to helping other veterans. Robert B.J. Jackson of the Iowa National Guard was wounded serving in Iraq last August. Although that ended his military career, it did not stop him from beginning a brand-new mission.
Casey Wian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): It's an Iowa National Guard barbecue, and B.J. Jackson is working the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: B.J. Jackson is raising money for an organization called the Salute American Heroes. Everybody pay a visit to B.J. over here.
WIAN: The hugs and handshakes for a hometown hero come from the heart.
ROBERT B.J. JACKSON, IOWA NATIONAL GUARD: They do great things here. They really support their troops.
WIAN: The crowd knows Jackson's story is as remarkable as his stature. He was 6'4" when his vehicle hit a land mine in Baghdad in August 2003, blasting off the lower part of his legs. With prosthetic limbs, he's now 6'7." That he survived at all is amazing.
JACKSON: I suffered burns to my arm, my hand, my face, my head, the small of my back and my legs for a four-and-a-half hour fight. Then they got me out, took about 45 minutes to get me out of that area to a safe zone and then took about 30 minutes to get me out of the burning vehicle.
WIAN: Jackson was sedated for a month and a half and has no memory of the blast. But, when he woke up, he knew that with a wife and two young daughters, he had to walk again.
JACKSON: My big thing was getting in the water because I was teaching my daughters how to swim before I left.
WIAN: Surprisingly, Jackson says his life hasn't changed all that much.
JACKSON: I live a normal life. I mean, I went skiing 30 days after I got my third set of legs I could actually walk in. I go swimming all the time now, at least once every two weeks.
WIAN: Reaching out and getting support for other veterans is Jackson's mission now.
JACKSON: This organization is doing a lot of great things. It's just started, and -- well, our first meeting was in May. WIAN: Jackson will travel through Iowa and the country in the next year as a spokesman for Salute America's Heroes. He wants every veteran to feel the gratitude and support that Iowans have given to him.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: You can find more information about Salute America's Heroes at saluteheroes.org.
Coming up, giving thanks to the troops on this Thanksgiving. General David Grange joins us to talk about how troops overseas are celebrating today.
And the inventions and the innovators who changed America forever and for the better. A look at 200 years of creativity and ingenuity. Sir Harold Evans, author of the new book "They Made America" will be our best guest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Staff Sergeant Wilson, Alpha Company 411, Engineer Combat Battalion, currently serving in Iraq. Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. I miss all of you. I ask that you have a happy, happy Thanksgiving. Keep an open heart. Get down and be blessed Thanksgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Corporal Eli Cook (ph), 235 Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. I want to say happy holidays to all the soldiers back in Afghanistan, and we haven't forgotten about you, especially A.T. Platoon (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: We continue with a special holiday edition of LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Here now, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: General David Grange served this country all over the world for three decades, and, tonight, he joins us to talk about what is a very special day for the hundreds of thousands of American troops away from home.
General Grange, thanks for joining us.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.
PILGRIM: How much of a fuss does the military make on Thanksgiving? How big a holiday is it for the troops overseas?
GRANGE: Well, this is a big day. It's very important to all American G.I.s all over the world, both at home and abroad. You're going to see throughout the day different levels of activities. It may be that you have hundreds of soldiers in one location to eat a very spectacular meal. And a lot of the military cooks are quite good. Or you may just see two G.I.s huddled around a small cook fire in the middle of the desert or the jungle or in the rain celebrating amongst themselves.
PILGRIM: Last year, we had a surprise visit by President Bush. How special was that for the troops?
GRANGE: Anytime someone like the president, secretary of defense, congressional delegation, senior military officers from one's own service visits on a day like today, it has -- it's a big deal for morale. Troops appreciate it, and it's also a custom. It's a custom historically throughout the armed forces.
PILGRIM: You must have spent many a Thanksgiving away from your family in your 30 years of service. It's very hard for families, who may be watching this program today, to be away from their sons and daughters who are overseas in combat or in service. Is there anything to say to them that could give them some kind of comfort?
GRANGE: Sure. I mean, they know that the hearts of fellow Americans, of their immediate family are with them, no matter where they're stationed overseas.
I missed quite a few Thanksgivings myself, and it's tough. It's a time of year similar to Christmas where you really want to be at home. But they also have their own home. They have their own home with the G.I.s they're with in harm's way or just stationed at an outpost overseas in a remote area somewhere in the world.
And they know that the Americans care, and they feel very proud of the duty that they're conducting abroad even on a day like today.
PILGRIM: It's such a family holiday. Do you bond with the people around you and make a new family perhaps?
GRANGE: Absolutely. I mean, a bonding is exceptional. You spend a lot of time together in places like mess halls where you can get in and out of the field and have a fabulous meal, or even in a bombed out building like a place like Falluja, sharing a meal ready to eat with a companion that you just were in harm's way with. So yes, it's very important. And bonding is exceptional on a day like today.
PILGRIM: Well, General Grange, I know you will join us and all of us here at LOU DOBBS TONIGHT in wishing our troops all over the world a very happy Thanksgiving. And thanks for sharing it with us, General Grange.
GRANGE: Thank you.
PILGRIM: There is some 130,000 American troops currently serving in Iraq, and they are all heroes. Tonight, we take a moment to recognize just a few of the men and women who have shown extraordinary courage on the field of battle. Bill Tucker and Casey Wian report on two remarkable groups of Marines. And we begin with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three Camp Pendleton Marines are honored for bravery and heroism in combat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president was United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy cross to Sergeant Marco A. Martinez.
TUCKER: Martinez took charge during a fierce firefight at the battle of Aktarmea (ph), north of Baghdad on April 12th, 2003. He single-handedly stormed a building, killing four Saddam fedayeen fighters. Fighting in the same battle, Staff Sergeant Adam Sikes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the squads in position, Staff Sergeant Sikes charged alone across 70 meters of fire swept ground to close on the first enemy strong point.
TUCKER: Sikes then went on to save fellow Marines while enemy fire rained down. For his heroism, the Secretary of the Navy Gordon England presented the silver star. Also receiving a silver star, Corporal Timothy Tartiff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corporal Tartiff charged across a road under intense small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire, inspiring his Marines to follow his example.
TUCKER: Corporal Tartiff was injured taking shrapnel from an enemy grenade.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Refusing to be evacuated and disregarding his wounds, Corporal Tartiff gallantly led his squad in an assault on an enemy-held compound.
TUCKER: It's not the first time these Marines been honored. The 1st Expeditionary Marine Force received the military's highest group award for heroism. Since then, many have trained and been deployed again. And many will never come home. The memory of their fallen comrades tempers the mood on this day of celebration.
Bill Tucker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now Casey Wian on another remarkable group of Marines from 29 Palms, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): First Lieutenant Brian Chontosh's Marine platoon was ambushed by Iraqis, firing mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and machine guns. Trapped, Chontosh ordered his driver Lance Corporal Armand Mccormack to turn directly into a heavily armed enemy trench. Their machine gunner bought them a few seconds. Then Chontosh, Mccormack and Lance Corporal Robert Kerrmin (ph) came out firing with small arms and pistols and quickly ran out of ammunition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First Lieutenant Chontosh with complete disregard for his safety twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack. When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others.
LANCE CPL. ARMAND MCCORMACK, U.S. MARINE CORPS: To tell you the truth, I can't even remember what I was feeling. It was just second nature to pick up enemy rifles.
CAPT. BRIAN CHONTOSH, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Just reacting to the good training that we have, true compassion and love for the Marines in the battalion. It was a job that needed to get done, just went and did it.
WIAN: General Michael Hagey, commandant of the Marine Corps, awarded Chontosh the Navy cross for extraordinary heroism. And the two corporals the silver star, the Corps' second and third highest honors. Also receiving a Navy cross for a different battle, Lance Corporal Joseph Perez. He was shot in the shoulder and torso, yet continued to lead his squad, which destroyed an enemy position.
LANCE CPL. JOSEPH PEREZ, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I'm not really big on getting awards and stuff like that. But you know, I just feel like the award that I'm getting reflects, you know, the job of all the Marines that serve with me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much for what you're doing and also for what you're about to do.
WIAN: To underscore that, Marines headed from the awards ceremony directly to a grueling live-fire training exercise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!
WIAN: It prepares them for battles they may soon face, some very soon.
Casey Wian, CNN, 29 Palms, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Coming up, they made America, the innovators and inventors who built this country. Sir Harold Evans is the author of a new book that honors their contribution. He will join us.
And some of the men and women do ordinary work in an extraordinary way. We'll share some of their stories and some of your thoughts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SGT. SHAWN FIDDLER: Hi, I'm Staff Sergeant Shawn Fiddler from Jessup, Georgia. I'd just like to take a chance and say hi to my parents. I miss you guys a bunch. Thanks for all your support and have a great Thanksgiving.
JOSHUA ROOF: Hi, my name is Joshua Roof from Fredericksburg, Virginia. I'm spending the holidays here in beautiful scenic Iraq. I'd like to send a holiday wish to my mom and dad back home and the rest of my family and also my friends there as well. Have a happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you all soon.
ANDREW SIBLEY: Hi, I'm Andrew Sibley. I'd like to say hello to my wife Jennifer, my boys back home. I love you guys. Happy Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: The new book looks at the truly remarkable history of American innovators and how their inventions forever changed our country and the world. Lou Dobbs recently spoke with Sir Harold Evans, author of "They Made America: Two Centuries of Innovators from the Steam Engine to the Search Engine."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIR HAROLD EVANS, AUTHOR, "THEY MADE AMERICA": Nobody has ever done 200 years of American business history enterprise.
DOBBS: Right.
EVANS: We have thousands and thousands of books about the founding fathers' pursuit of liberty, happiness, etcetera and nothing about the men who delivered the goods, the innovators.
DOBBS: I want to show -- I just -- there was one quote I read, and it's so short, it's hardly worth putting up, but I'm going to ask you to do so. Do we have that up on a graphic? If I can ask for that. And this from Elisha Otis. "Machines, the tools of liberty," which I thought was terrific.
EVANS: Absolutely fantastic. And we found that in his sketches of elevators. Every elevator was...
DOBBS: Beautiful sketches, by the way.
EVANS: Oh, gorgeous. Well, Robert Fulton, the same. Beautiful sketches for the steamboat. And you find -- what I think fascinates me about these innovators, apart from having really colorful lives is they had strong moral values. These innovators very often dedicated themselves to improving mankind. And they've been short-changed by historians and schools and educators and the popular culture.
DOBBS: You also have a vignette, if I may, about Ted Turner as one of those whose innovations have changed the world.
EVANS: I love Ted Turner's attitude. He says if you have a great idea and 90 percent of the people say it's not a great idea, you may not have a great idea, but I went ahead anyway. So I just...
DOBBS: That's a very good impression.
EVANS: ...I just -- Ted Turner is one of those stars. I came to see Ted Turner in 1982 when I was director of Bill Crist Films in television. Every network told me, "Don't bother, he's crazy."
DOBBS: Right.
EVANS: And I went to see him. And he wasn't crazy, not really.
DOBBS: Crazy sometimes keeps people from going insane, as Jimmy Buffett would have it. Also, McLean, you point out in "Knock McLean" in bringing globalization ahead, containerized shipping.
EVANS: Malcolm McLean is a trucker from North Carolina. And he sat on the dock in the '30s and watched these piecemeal efforts to load a vessel. Now innovation was staring everybody in the face, but he was the only one to see it and exploit it. Globalization, thousands of jobs created by Malcolm McLean.
DOBBS: And one of those stories which has not a perfect ending.
EVANS: No. He got -- he went broke in the end, but he went broke trying something...
DOBBS: Doing the right thing.
EVANS: ...yes. And some people took their own lives. The point is they enriched our own lives today.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Again, it's just a wonderful book. One of the things I thought about with McLean and the number of others in your book, great inspiration, innovation. But today the United States doesn't own a single shipping line. And it's really a statement about that globalization issue. We need to get completive in the very, very most urgent way.
Bill Evans, thank you very much.
EVANS: Thank you very much.
DOBBS: Good to have you here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Coming up, two people who exemplify the spirit of the American worker. They do work many of us might take for granted. And they do it with pride. Their stories and much more still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. MICHAEL CALLAHAN MCCANN: Hi, my name is Sergeant First Class Michael Callahan Mccann from Everett, Washington. I'd like to wish my wife, Tonya, my kids Caitlin, Mikela and Kiernan a happy Thanksgiving. And I love you, honey. And happy Thanksgiving to all my family out there.
SGT. WESLEY WARD: Hi, I'm Sergeant Wesley Ward. I'd like to send a special hello out to all the families of Bravo Company 15 Infantry 1st Platoon. A special hello to the wives of 3rd squad, Loulou, Gloria, Nikki, Chrissi, and especially my wife, Regina. I love you and I miss you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: In our feature series "America Works," we celebrate the men and women who really run this country. They are hard-working people who do ordinary jobs in an extraordinary way.
Tonight, we introduce you to a woman who's been making people feel at home away from home for nearly 30 years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (voice-over): Carol Romney starts her day at 6:00 a.m. with a steady hum of dryers and the scent of fresh laundry. The sheets sometimes pile up so high, they are nearly over her head.
CAROL ROMNEY, WARWICH HOTELS EMPLOYEE: We have, like, 219 rooms. And we have to re-sheet the beds. So you've got a lot of linen coming down.
PILGRIM: Washers to load, sheets to fold, it's physically demanding, hard on the feet. With dryers loaded, she takes a mid- morning smoke break on the hotel roof. There she tells us how much she loves the job she has held for nearly three decades. Over that time, the hotel has changed ownership several times. Every time, she worries about job security.
ROMNEY: What they do, they fire everybody. And then they'll make everybody refill out another application, but they always rehired us back anyways.
PILGRIM: When asked about job competition from new immigrants, Carol is hesitant to criticize.
ROMNEY: They're good workers. Don't get me wrong, they are good workers. But there's a lot of people in the United States that also needs a job, too.
PILGRIM: She started at $1.50 an hour and now makes $10 an hour. She worries new workers would be willing to work for less.
ROMNEY: They would hire the other people because they would have lower income -- I mean not income, but wages. And they could let me go anytime.
PILGRIM: There are plenty of Americans working at the hotel.
(on camera): The Warwick Hotel has 150 employees. Only four percent have green cards.
(voice-over): And there are no illegal workers. General Manager John Wagner says he has absolutely no problem filling the jobs with legal American workers.
JOHN WAGNER, WARWICK HOTEL GENERAL MANAGER: We have a number of -- plenty of people, actually, that have legal status and can work. Not to say that we don't have people that come in without papers or proper papers to apply. But we have had not had any problem filling our positions right now.
PILGRIM: And he has high praise for Carol.
WAGNER: You can count on her. She's here every day, on time. Those are really the day in and day out consistencies we like to see.
PILGRIM: Day in, day out for nearly 30 years.
ROMNEY: There we are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Another great example of what makes America work, Robin Saucedo. Now he has spent nearly 20 years cleaning up the city of Santa Ana, California. And now it's become something of a family tradition.
Casey Wian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): Robin Saucedo's morning begins before 4:00 with good-byes to his sleeping family.
ROBIN SAUCEDO, TRASH COLLECTOR: See you.
WIAN: Then it's off to work as a trash hauler. He started at 18 with seven years of lifting residential garbage cans. Now 37, his route is commercial.
SAUCEDO: You've got to put your time in and, you know, virtually you'll get your turn.
WIAN: After safety checks on his truck by 5:00, he begins his jam packed route.
SAUCEDO: The toughest part is when you're out there, and you have to roll these bins 200 feet, 150 feet. That gets -- after a while, that gets -- it gets -- you get tired.
WIAN: Try keeping up with Saucedo for a day if you want to appreciate your job. Besides the physical challenges and smell, Saucedo has to dodge cars, power lines, even people.
SAUCEDO: A lot of homeless people, they like to sleep in the containers. Since the whole time I've been here out of 18 years, I've dumped one homeless person in there. And he had hurt his arm really bad.
WIAN: One of Saucedo's newest tools is a digital camera for photographing overflowing bins. The customer gets a copy and a letter. Once the truck's full, it's off to the landfill or the recycling station.
(on camera): It's only 11:00 in the morning, and Saucedo has already made more than 70 stops, picked up more than 100 containers, and dumped two full truckloads of garbage.
(voice-over): Most days lunch is in the truck. With overtime and a half day on Saturday, Saucedo earns about $50,000 a year.
SAUCEDO: I get pay for what I do.
WIAN: His father Marcos has been a waste management trash hauler for 33 years.
SAUCEDO: I just had a baby, and I was looking for something stable. So my father had, you know, just told me, why don't you try it out? I said, I'll try it out for about a year.
WIAN: Eighteen years later, another workday ends after 116 stops.
SAUCEDO: I'm back. How was your day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
SAUCEDO: OK?
WIAN: Saucedo comes home to wife, Michelle, a school bus driver, grown daughter, Stephanie, and 6-year-old son, Manuel, who wants to drive a trash truck, too.
SAUCEDO: I think my son would make a good living at it.
WIAN: That would make three generations of proud trash haulers.
Casey Wian, CNN, Santa Ana, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Tonight's thought is on work. Far and away, the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Those words from President Theodore Roosevelt.
Coming up, we'll have some of your thoughts on jobs, including some ideas on what Americans can do to earn a living.
And as we go to commercial, we celebrate the great legacy of America's workers over the last century.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SGT. DAMIEN WALKER: Hi, my name is Sergeant Damien Walker. I'm from Fort Lewis, Washington, here at Fabmoraz (ph) in Iraq. I want to say hello to my wife Candace and my friends and family back in Tacoma, Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bravo Company 15 Infantry. I just want to say happy Thanksgiving to my kids, Mia and Jay. Daddy wishes he could be with you. And I want to wish a speedy recovery to Staff Sergeant Smith. He's in a hospital right now. See you soon. Happy Thanksgiving to his family. And happy Thanksgiving, Mom, Dad and Brandy. Love you.
JOSHUA LARSON: Hi, this is Joshua Larson from Mosul, Iraq. I want to say happy Thanksgiving to my friends and family at home, my mother, my father, and my sister. I love you guys. And I'll come home safely some day. And I just wish you a happy Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Many of you have written in about job losses and the exporting of America. Cody Vega of Kingsville, Texas, writes, "The great industrialist Harvey Samuel Firestone once said: 'Give the American worker a good job and we'll have the greatest industrialized nation in the world. With his good wages he will buy his own home, his own car, his own everyday needs....But without a job, it won't do a bit of good. No income -- no purchases."
R.J. from Gainesville, Missouri writes, "Seems funny that whenever a corporation wants to save money, they layoff workers or cut benefits, except when it comes to upper management, then money is no object for perks, benefits, and salaries. Guess that's why executive pay went up 8 percent and the lower payrolls went down 3 percent."
Andrew from Aberdeen, Maryland writes, "I suggest that those individuals currently out of work look into either nursing or teaching. These are jobs you can be proud of and which are desperately needed today. Trade the forklift for hearts and minds."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com.
Still ahead, it's been 30 years, and he's still enjoying the ride. Meet the man who keeps one of America's favorite playgrounds running smoothly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Finally tonight, we feature a man who has proudly worked at one of the most famous vacation venues in this country. Gary Mendetto has worked at New York's Coney Island for more than 30 years. And he says it's been quite a ride.
Bill Tucker has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TUCKER (voice-over): For 77 years, it stood on Coney Island, a mecca to thrill-seekers, the Coney Island cyclone, one-half mile of wooden roller coaster glory. 12 drops, 16 changes of direction...
GARY MENDETTO: At its fastest, I'd say it's about 55.
TUCKER: And all original equipment maintained by this man, Jerry Mendetto.
MENDETTO: the track has to be walked from start to finish. Another guy comes in with a helper, and they go over the whole car that worked the day before. All the seats are taken out. Everything is checked underneath and then put back together. And then we send it for a test run.
TUCKER: It all comes down to gravity and the control of force.
MENDETTO: This wheel here is what keeps you from going off the track. There's a lip that comes out. We call it the cap, that these wheels ride on that keeps you down. These are your running wheels up here. That's what keeps you going.
TUCKER: But the cyclone is not a ride as much as it seems to be a devotion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great. It's awesome. It's fun. It's exhilarating.
MENDETTO: You'd be surprised how many people that got 20 years on me, and I'm 60, that come up here as excited as those children. Sometimes you have people, they argue over the front seat. And sometimes it goes into a fight, because I was here first. You were here first. Kid stuff, but adults are the worst. The adults, they act like children.
TUCKER: Really?
MENDETTO: Oh, forget about it. And women. Women, for some reason, they can get their husbands in a lot of trouble over that front seat.
TUCKER (on camera): For over three-quarters of a century, the Cyclone has set the standard for many in terms of rollercoaster rides. How long will it survive? Well, as long as Jerry's around to maintain it. And there are a lot of adrenaline addicts in search of a cheap thrill. This ride is safe.
(voice-over): Wait. Did I mention that in all of his 30 years, Jerry has never once ridden the Cyclone?
(on camera): Bill Tucker, CNN, Coney Island, New York!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Thanks for joining us tonight. For all of us here, have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Good night from New York. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
