That little red painted wagon, the Radio Flyer, was created by a young Italian  immigrant, Antonio Pasin, from the region of Venice. (Many names from this region of Italy drop the last vowel.) The name Radio Flyer was to commemorate the invention by Guglielmo Marconi, and is now run by the third generation of Pasins. Antonio Pasin (1896-1990) was inducted in the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 2003.

The Radio Flyer Web Site is a précis, by decade, of American culture and history.
Radio Flyer: History  << http://www.radioflyer.com/history/history.html >>
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WAGON MAKERS WATCH JOBS ROLL AWAY

Boston Globe
By Lori Rotenberk,
Globe Correspondent,
4/4/2004

CHICAGO -- The Radio Flyer wagons that for generations have seemed as American as apple pie will soon be made in China, a stark example of the trend toward shipping US jobs abroad that has become a much-debated issue this election year.

For the 90 workers of the small family-run company on the city's Near West Side, the 85-year-old company's decision to move its assembly operations to China, where wages are lower, means that nearly half of them will lose their jobs at the end of August.

"A Radio Flyer from China? It is hard for us to imagine and for most of us, the news is very sad," Emanuel Rodriguez, 52, a steel punch press operator, said at the close of his shift late Thursday afternoon. "And what about the workers, where will we all go?"

"We have an older work force," Rodriguez said. "Most of us are over 50 years old and where are we going to find other jobs? We love working here. The pay is good, the company treats us well. What happens afterwards? I have four children to support."

The company's tricycles, scooters, and most of its other products already are made in China. Its plastic wagons, which have become more popular than the metal version, are made by a Wisconsin company. Robert Pasin, the firm's third-generation chief executive, said the headquarters and distribution center will remain in Chicago.

Pasin said the "transition allows the company to better meet consumers' shifting demands for new kinds of Radio Flyer wagons." He added that the company stopped making wheelbarrows more than 15 years ago, leaving the Chicago facility underutilized.

Antonio Pasin, an Italian immigrant, began the company in 1917 in a one-room workshop where he made by hand wooden wagons called Liberty Coasters, after the Statue of Liberty.

Pasin later renamed the wagons Radio Flyers, honoring the invention of the radio by his fellow Italian, Gugliemo Marconi, and Pasin's admiration of airplanes.

Bob Ying, 40, joined Radio Flyer two years ago as a mechanical engineer. "I didn't see this coming," said Ying. "And I'm not sure what to do. The idea of leaving and having to look for another job is sad. I was happy here."

The Bush administration strongly advocates free trade, and administration officials have contended that sending some jobs abroad helps save American companies money that can in turn be used for reinvestment and creating new jobs. In an interview last week, Treasury Secretary John Snow pointed to overseas manufacturing as an integral part of today's global economy.

Many Democrats and trade union leaders, however, contend that US workers are bearing the brunt of globalization. Senator John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pledged to put limits on sending work abroad. While job growth has started to improve recently, more than 3 million jobs have been lost since mid-2000.

Most of the workers in Radio Flyer's manufacturing division are members of the United Auto Workers union. Rodriguez said that discussions are underway about severance packages for employees who will lose their jobs.

"We have people here who have been with the company for 30 and 40 years," he said. "To them, this is like a death in the family."

Two years ago, after striking a deal with Chicago in which it was given a small parcel of land and an alteration of Grand Avenue near its headquarters, Radio Flyer said it would pay the city $1.3 million if it left town in a decade.

Marjorie Benzkofer, a spokeswoman for the company, said it also agreed to pay a $1,000 fee for each employee if the number of workers in Chicago fell below 75. Pasin has said he intends to honor that agreement.

In a statement to the media, Pasin said the decision was made to keep pace with the toy industry. An estimated 80 percent of all toys sold in the United States are manufactured overseas.

"For 85 years, Radio Flyer has been an enduring symbol for childhood fun," Pasin said. "We are simply trying to evolve with consumer demand and remain a relevant and viable company into the 21st century."

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