Cash for Clunkers Is Record-Setting Success
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The Obama administration’s “cash for clunkers” program, which expired yesterday, was a smashing success. It delivered important benefits to the environment and the U.S. economy, the UAW says. And one highly respected analyst reports the program spawned record car sales.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger pointed out that consumers responded enthusiastically to the program, which explains why it ran its course faster than anyone expected. He says:
In just a few weeks, Americans have traded in hundreds of thousands of older vehicles for new, higher-mileage models.
The result is higher fuel economy, lower carbon emissions—and an increase in production and employment that means increased opportunity for American workers and American companies.
UAW Members Ratify GM Agreement
Members of the UAW overwhelmingly ratified an agreement with General Motors (GM) Corp. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger told a Detroit press conference today that 74 percent of GM’s U.S. production and skilled-trade workers voted in favor of the deal.
Under the agreement, the union-run retiree health care trust will gain 17.5 percent ownership of a post-bankruptcy GM, with an option to buy another 2.5 percent.
“UAW members have once again stepped up to make necessary and painful sacrifices to preserve U.S. manufacturing jobs,” Gettelfinger said.
This settlement agreement will give GM a chance to survive the worldwide collapse of industry sales and return as a viable company once the economy recovers and consumers begin purchasing vehicles again.
New Fuel Standards Protect Environment and Workers
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney praised today’s agreement on nationwide fuel economy standards as “a major step forward and a victory for America’s workers, consumers and the environment.”
The agreement, announced today by President Obama, requires vehicle carbon dioxide emissions be reduced by about one-third. Under the changes, the overall fleet average would have to be 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016, with passenger cars reaching 39 mpg and light trucks hitting 30 mpg. Manufacturers also would be required to hit individual mileage targets.
Keep It Made in America: Our Future Depends On It
The pundits and politicians inside the Washington Beltway don’t get: If the United States continues to send its manufacturing jobs overseas—as General Motors and Chrysler are now proposing—the result will be more low-income U.S. families.
So today, workers, economists, academics and business and union leaders, fresh from the “Keep It Made in America” bus tour through the nation’s heartland, brought that message to the policymakers’ doorstep as part of a teach-in on Capitol Hill.
The 11-day, 34-city bus tour showcased the ripple effect on communities of the lost jobs in manufacturing. (See video.) Today, during the teach-in, those who took part brought the stories they heard along the tour and presented principles for revitalizing the auto industry to members of Congress and the press.
UAW Reaches Settlement Agreement with Chrysler, Fiat
Just days before a federally imposed deadline, the UAW announced last night it had reached a settlement agreement with Chrysler, Fiat and the U.S. Treasury Department.
After rejecting Chrysler’s viability plan in February, President Obama gave Chrysler workers and the company a second chance, union officials said. This concessionary agreement, while painful, takes advantage of this opportunity, the union said.
Tell the President: Stand up for Autoworkers
The UAW is calling on all working people to stand up for active and retired U.S. autoworkers. The Obama administration has established tight deadlines for the restructuring of Chrysler and General Motors (GM). For the federal government to provide additional assistance to the automakers, the restructuring of Chrysler must be completed by the end of April, and the General Motors restructuring must be completed by the end of May.
The Chrysler and GM workers need President Obama and his auto task force to stand up for the interests of workers and retirees in these restructuring negotiations.
You can call President Obama at 202-456-1414, or send him an e-mail at: www.whitehouse.gov/contact. The UAW urges allies to tell him that workers and retirees must be treated in a fair and equitable manner in any restructuring plans.
UAW Reaches Agreement with Big Three
The UAW has reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) on changes to its 2007 contracts with the automakers. The agreement came hours before Chrysler and GM had to file restructuring plans as part of last year’s federal loan agreement. Discussions continue over the retiree health care plans at all three automakers.
Says UAW President Ron Gettelfinger:
The changes will help these companies face the extraordinarily difficult economic climate in which they operate. Discussions are continuing regarding the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs) at all three companies.
Battle for Civil Rights Similar to Today’s Fight for Workers’ Rights
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says there are parallels between the congressional battles in the 1950s and 1960s over civil rights legislation and today’s fight over workers’ rights and the Employee Free Choice Act.
In a column in the Detroit News, Gettelfinger writes:
Time and again, civil rights measures were passed by a majority in the U.S. House and supported by a majority in the U.S. Senate—only to be defeated by a filibuster used by a minority of senators.
The effort to stop social progress was led by Dixiecrats—Southern Democrats who stood for the privileged elite against the will of a majority of the American people. Today, their spiritual heirs have changed political parties, but they still reward the fortunate few who hold wealth and power and trample the needs of everyone else.
Gettelfinger: Everybody Has to Help Save Auto Industry
Workers alone cannot save the nation’s auto industry. All stakeholders have to participate, including management, board members, dealers, suppliers, secured and unsecured creditors, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says.
Speaking before the Automotive News World Conference in Detroit today, Gettelfinger said he looks forward to working with the Obama administration to rebuild the domestic auto industry. Click here to read the full speech.
He knows, and we know, that a strong manufacturing base, including a strong domestic auto industry, are vital to the future of the U.S. economy.
Bush’s Auto Industry Loans Come With Unfair Conditions for Workers
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After letting the auto industry hang for weeks following the refusal by Republican senators to approve a loan to help automakers get through the end of the year—and a day after Chrysler said it will shut down all 30 of its North American plants for at least one month, putting 46,000 employees out of work—George W. Bush announced his administration’s offer to automakers today.
Bush says he’ll give automakers $17.4 billion in emergency bridge loans. Some $13.4 billion would be available this month and next—$9.4 billion for GM and $4 billion for Chrysler. Ford Motor Co. has said it does not need immediate help.
