Halteman-Harwell: The ‘Made In China’ Candidate
As State Representative Beth Halteman-Harwell decides whether to run for governor, the Tennessee Democratic Party is calling on her to disclose to voters her toy company’s practice of outsourcing manufacturing jobs to China. Halteman-Harwell co-owns Big Time Toys LLC, of Brentwood, with her husband Sam Harwell. The multi-million-dollar toy company manufactures all of its merchandise using dozens of low-paid workers in the south China province of Guangdong. The company outsources distribution of its goods through a warehouse operation in California, even though Tennessee is a nationally recognized distribution hub located within one day’s drive of more than 50% of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, Big Time Toys is believed to have fewer than a dozen employees in Tennessee.
Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke said Halteman-Harwell’s toy company — her main source of income — is an issue that speaks poorly of her motivation for recruiting jobs and, more fundamentally, illustrates a lack of personal commitment to economic development in Tennessee. “How on Earth does Beth Halteman-Harwell plan to recruit new jobs to Tennessee when she runs her own business out of China?” Tuke said. “It sends a terrible message and, frankly, it’s an insult to hard-working Tennesseans who are more than capable of producing these goods here at home.”
Among other products, Halteman-Harwell’s Big Time Toys makes children’s swim gear and inflatable toys including “Socker Boppers,” oversized boxing gloves used for horseplay.
Tuke added that Halteman-Harwell’s export of manufacturing jobs to China is particularly troubling following a 2004 legislative vote she cast to encourage the use of U.S. labor and services in state government contracts [Public Chapter 630, 2004]. “This is a classic example of Beth Halteman-Harwell saying one thing in the General Assembly and doing another in real life,” Tuke said. “If she decides to run for governor, we’ll look forward to a spirited race that will delve deeper into her lengthy legislative and professional record.”
