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Double Standard: Critics of Big Three Loan Subsidize Foreign Competitors |
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When Senate Republicans blocked the $14 billion emergency bridge loan needed to keep the nation’s auto industry operating, they knew it could cost between 3 million and 5 million jobs. But some of the most vociferous critics of the auto industry and the UAW reside in states that have given huge no-strings-attached subsidies to foreign auto plants. Some of those states even owe their very survival in part to the Big Three auto companies.
Good Jobs First reports that foreign-owned auto companies operating in the United States have received $3.6 billion in subsidies, mostly from southern “right to work” for less states. That amount doesn’t even count joint ventures with U.S. companies or include inflation, which would make the figures even higher in today’s dollars.
Says Good Jobs First’s Executive Director Greg LeRoy:
As elected officials debate aid for the Big 3, taxpayers have the right to know the full extent of government involvement in America’s auto industry. And while proposed federal aid to the Big 3 would take the form of a loan, the vast majority of subsidies to foreign auto plants were taxpayer gifts such as property and sales tax exemptions, income tax credits, infrastructure aid, land discounts, and training grants.
The largest subsidies include:
- $577 million this year for a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.
- $400 million for a Kia plant in West Point, Ga., in 2006.
- $300 million for a Toyota plant in Blue Springs, Miss., last year.
- $295 million for a Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., in 2000.
You can see the full list of subsidies here.
In the height of hypocrisy, one of the biggest critics of the Big Three, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby recently obtained $160 million for the fishing industry nationwide, with a portion of the money headed for his home state of Alabama. The money is not a loan, but a government handout. Shelby states on his website:
This funding will provide much needed assistance to an industry that is a vital part of the Alabama economy.
You can read more on Sen. Shelby here.
But what makes the senators’ opposition even more onerous is that several come from states that depended on the generosity of the Big Three automakers and the UAW in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a biting commentary in the Detroit Free Press, Tom Walsh reminds two southern Republicans senators, in particular, David Vitter of Louisiana and Shelby, that “when Hurricane Katrina slammed into their states three years ago, the automobile companies of Detroit did not harrumph that the Gulf Coast should have been better prepared.”
The three Detroit auto companies together gave more than $18 million in cash and vehicles to the Katrina relief effort in the ensuing months. No strings attached.
The U.S. Senate’s most adamant naysayers about whether Detroit deserves rescue loans should have thought about that before now.
Could the opinions of these senators be colored by the fact that the foreign-owned plants of Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Nissan and Volkswagen—which compete with the Detroit Three—are located in their states?
Let’s just say that since logic hasn’t worked, we should fall back on a simple moral argument. If you see a fellow American is drowning, gasping for air, do you quiz him for a while about whether he’s drunk or why he never learned to swim better?
Or do you throw him a life buoy and ask questions later?
Well said.
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The leadership of all organized labor should compose a summarized mailing to all members (Nation Wide) on the facts & tactics of GOP Senator Bob Corker of Tenn. and Senate Minority (GOP) leader Mitch McConnell from Ky along with other Senators that voted against century old American auto Companies. Their unamerican position was made clear when they criticized union workers and retirees in their comments as they supported the foreign owned (Japan, Germany ect) that have plants in their states by voting to kill the bill that would have provided an emergency bridge loan to the American auto companies.
The letter should outline what happens to labor contracts for pensions and healthcare for both active and retired workers if a bankruptcy judge chooses to break them. Also point out the fact that their tactics also created disastrous losses to all citizens, regardless of who they worked for, from the crash of auto stocks and other investments held in 401-K accounts invested in the stock market.
Also, point out the importance of buying products from American owned companies. Destroy the labor parity myth and the Republicans charges of $73 per hour. Cite the amount of taxpayer dollars used to lure the foreign plants to locate in their state. Also cite the total used for all Southern states.
Remind them of how American Auto companies geared up to produce war equipment for our soldiers that became crucial in winning World War I and II. How American wifes of workers stepped up to fill in for the men as they went off to fight for America. That tradition has continued through all the wars that have followed including the current conflicts in Iraq. Ask them how secure would our country be if we lost the American Auto and Manufacturing base to foreign owned manufacturers
Each union should do an analysis of the number of retirees in Ky and Tenn to determine what kind of activist numbers would be available if an ACTION strategy was determined by the United Leadership of All to make an example of such unamerican enemies as Senator Corker and McConnell. Determine the weaker of the two . Go all out to teach them and all others a lesson on the cost they will incurr when they use American Workers as a scapegoat for falling auto sales to make their political points. Expose their e-mail mailer plan as Union Busting tactics at the expense of all America. Compare their efforts and requirements to dole out $700 billion in tax payer obligations to Wall Street with little or no accountability to the taxpayers.
Include a survey of organizational options available to a United Leadership of all Unions working on behalf of all active and retired workers and their families.
Survey
A United Leadership effort by all unions can explore a political strategy of how to deal with unamerican enemies of the big 3 bridge loan that would save American owned factories.
President Bush has indicated that he will step in and provide money that the Senate denied. However, The Presdents responsible action does not absolve the financial destruction tactics of the Republicans and two Democrats that voted to kill the
bridge loan bill in the Senate.
One political option available to the Union Leadership would be to explore the pheasibility of organizing a Recall Petition Drive among Tenn or Ky voters to place a recall question on the ballot.
Recall petition drives are very labor intensive and costly so we need to know your opinion on how strong the membership feels about taking on our enemies that threatens our all American tratditions and the financial stability that all workers work to achieve adequate pension and healthcare protection for retirement.
If enough signatures are obtained on recall petitions, a state wide election would be held for the voters to vote on the question to recall the Senator. If a Senator is recalled, an election would be set up to elect a new Senator to serve the balance of the 6 year term.
If there is support among the membership to stand up and set the record straight on the facts and protect the rights gained through collective bargaining and sacrifices dating back to the sitdown strikes then we need to take this fight to the antiamerican politicians that work for the taxpayers in America.
Do you favor taking any kind of political action against the key leaders of the antiamerican, antiworker tactics. Senator Bob Corker of Tenn, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell of Ky, and Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama have been the vocal critics of the bridge loan for American Auto companies.
Campaing Finance Laws would require filing the proper paperwork to raise money and disclose contributions in whatever states were selected for a recall effort.
Resources
If a Recall effort was decided to take on Senator Corker in Tenn, letting the Tenn leadership stay out front of the effort would be critical to avoid the Carpet Bagger charge of volunteers coming from the Northern States. The key point would have to be stressed that Senator Corkers efforts put all American in financial jeopardy as well as the greatest National Security threat of all time.
There could be interest from non worker groups to file 327 fund raising committees in support of the effort. Another strong resource in Tenn would be the state wide exposure and organization of former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr who lost a narrow race to Bob Corker when Senator Frist resigned the seat.
I would love to post in our local paper here in London, KY., the heart of Republican “vote as your parents did” country.
Not all Republicans but many would just love to bust unions and it all started with Ronald Reagan and the Air Controllers and slowly but surely unions have been weakened. Unions aren’t without blemishes but without them our middle class would be very small. We need them and must fight to keep them strong. Funny how Wall Street and the Banks get Billions in bailouts and I didn’t read where the white collar workers had to give back their hard earned benefits but the union auto worker does. Funny? No SAD!!!
It is sad that a great many of the people that support the Republican Party(Hard working blue collar white men) are presicsely the ones that are the target of their party. These Republicans does not care about working America, they are harden supporters of Corporate America. These guys love to run around with a flag pin on their laper and urge people to “buy American” but yet, they will subsudize the ‘FOREIGN’ products. Tehy are nothing more than HYpocrites. These are the same guys that loves to claim that they support the troops, yet the vast majority NEVER served in our Armed Forces and give more support to the defense industry than to the troops, but yet, they manage to FOOL a vast number of people in this country with their bigotry and social divisive issues. WAKE UP BLUE COLLAR WORKER, THE TRUE COLOR OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS COMING OUT.