from the president

Solidarity in the ranks

Most of us in the UAW have at one time or another felt the sting of anti-union rhetoric and views.

But I can think of nothing in the last several decades that comes close to the kind of vicious attacks our union has received from a handful of Republican lawmakers and those in the public whom they’ve been able to misguide.

As the domestic auto companies and our union appealed to Congress for federal assistance to get through these tough economic times, we found support from the Democratic leadership and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

But a handful of GOP senators tried to blame UAW members for the financial trouble the U.S. auto companies are in.

In order to do so, they had to ignore all manner of facts laid out before them: that all of the auto companies, domestic and foreign, have seen a staggering decline in sales and are having financial difficulty; that our labor accounts for only about 10 percent of a vehicle’s cost; that UAW members have made numerous and painful sacrifices to help Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. compete with the foreign automakers, which benefit from their countries’ import restrictions and public health care systems; and that the auto companies, like so many sectors of our economy, are in these circumstances because of a global economic crisis not of our making.

There’s no question the middle class has been treated by a double standard in this process. No member of Congress attempted to slash or even question the wages and benefits of workers at Citigroup or AIG or Bear Stearns. None of the financial firms, which have taken billions in taxpayer money, were asked to present detailed plans for its use or forced into a restructuring with terms and timetables mandated by the federal government.

And no other group of workers has stepped up to the plate to make concessions as our members have. Time and again, our union has demonstrated leadership and a willingness to make the tough and often painful choices to keep the auto companies viable.

But there comes a point when we have to say "enough." We are not going to stand by while a small group of bitter Republicans, primarily from southern states with foreign-owned, nonunion auto plants, tries to destroy us and our right to collectively bargain for decent wages and working conditions.

Fortunately, the Bush administration understood the devastating impact a collapse of the domestic automakers would have on millions of working people and our entire economy. We thank the president for his responsible leadership in working with the Democratic leadership to provide Chrysler and GM with emergency bridge loans.

In the end, it was your tireless efforts – your phone calls and letters and e-mails and rallies and talking with your neighbors and families and friends – that prevented these anti-worker senators from breaking our union.

You can be proud of all the hard work you did throughout this process, knowing this attack on our union – launched by the very people who were elected to represent us – is an attack on working people throughout this country.

You showed the nation a union is the only instrument that gives working men and women any form of equity in the workplace and a voice in the decisions that affect them.

While we have a long way to go to reach that place where working people are respected and valued, our solidarity will always be the path that takes us there.

Signature

Ron Gettelfinger